Gol D Ann
by 6Fortius9
Summary: If your coming means your passing, should you be expected to cry or smile? [Ace with Twin fic]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

…

"When you come, you cried and everyone smiled with joy;

When you go, smile and let the world cry for you."

-Rabindranath Togare

…

"But…if your coming means your passing, what should you be expected to do?"

\- Gol D. Ann

…

Once upon a time, there was a woman.

She was Portgas D. Rouge, a delicate yet high spirited woman with flowing strawberry blond hair and fiery brown eyes. In the tiny island of the Southern Blues where she lived, she was respected and loved dearly by her fellow islanders.

One day, she fell in love with a man named Gol D. Roger.

He was a man with a heart as big as his hair is shaggy. With an omnipresent huge grin and idealistic words that never failed to enrapture her with its beautiful painted images, Rouge fell hard for him. Roger was a world renowned pirate, but even that did not stop the love that blossomed between them.

Together, the loving couple brought a pair of twins into this world.

They were Gol D. Ace and Gol D. Ann.

This is the story of Gol D. Ann.

…

I died.

I died an unfulfilling, meaningless death.

It was not as if I passed away trying to rescue a child from an accident or even a slow killing disease. In fact, the concept of those possible ways to go sounded far, far sweeter, since I would have at least been able to share my last words or be proud of the way I went.

No.

I died from a heart attack, an unfortunate result of health and genetics which stole away my life in a matter of seconds.

It happened so suddenly without warning.

There I was, an ordinary teenage girl walking around in the streets of a busy city when suddenly, my heart squeezed and tightened. It is an indescribable feeling, comparable to someone clenching down mercilessly on your heart, yet even that is insufficient to show the pain.

I faltered, I staggered, and I fell.

The agony took my sheer breath away. I clenched my heart as I reached out for help, tears falling down my cheeks and silent screams of anguish escaping from my gaping lips

– Helphelphelphelp_someonepleasehelpme!– _

The passerbys yelled in alarm. Someone called for an ambulance. A doctor in training charged forward, shaking my shoulders desperately and urging me with all his might to hang on.

–I could see it in his eyes when he took a look at me for the fifth, tenth? time. With hope and light seeping away from those frustrated eyes of his, I subconsciously knew what was happening–

"Don't give up!" I read from his lips.

–Yet I could only think about the things I have yet to do, my heart tumbling deeper into the pits of my stomach the more he tried to yell out loud –

"No. Nononono…"

–Give up. Please give up. I begged in my mind–

"No! Stay with me!"

-However, through that quaking voice of his, nothing managed to stop the looming shadows that filled my vision, tendrils of a dark abyss dragging me down into oblivion.

I struggled. Really, I did.

I struggled to keep my best efforts to heave my chest up in a mimicry of respiration. No air entered my airways even then, and there and then, I thought I could hear some parts of myself laughing helplessly and tearfully at my pathetic attempts.

The pain was overwhelming.

The pain flooded my every senses.

The pain…stopped…?

And I died.

…

Being reborn as Gol D. Ace's younger twin was not a skip in the park.

For months, I found myself floating in the thick liquid which held my tiny frame upright. I was wrapped in the silky and velvety warmth which was supposed to my mother's womb, a thing which oddly enough, gave me a sense of security. Still, I gasped. I strugged. And I wiggled to get away from the other being in this confined space who shall later on be known as Portgas D. Ace.

Ace was one clingy little thing, even as a baby…foetus thing. With grabby hands always wandering around in this suffocating liquid, he was always brushing up against me, feeling me up. Of course, I do not know the identity of this soon to be Ace then so I did all I could to avoid those clingy appendages.

Leave it not to be said that in the rare moments when the pangs of loneliness became too much to bear, I would cling back onto his clutches, hanging onto them for my dear life and sanity. Ace never refused my touches, much to my unending relief. Instead, he accepted them willingly, holding on tighter to me as if sensing my agitation and pain.

Seven months, I recall reading somewhere, was the time when the foetus stops moving due to insufficient space. You could only imagine how it is like to have a twin stuck with you in this hell hole.

My preoccupation for survival, however, took away what complaints I might have. I rolled myself further up into my twin, willing myself to ignore how unnatural this position is in my new body and how barely an inch of space is left between us. My twin, the affectionate little rascal who I have gotten fond of by then, must survive at all costs. It would be damn selfish if I stole his life away just because I am too greedy or something.

Nine months, I knew, came when I was rocked into consciousness by Ace's movement.

As he shifted to face downwards, head pointing to the earth, I followed his motion, knowing that it should be about time for us to be born. Outwardly, I shifted diligently. Inwardly, I sighed a thousand times with relief, grateful for the escape from this tiny space.

Little did I know what was about to come.

…

Someone up there must definitely hate me.

I could barely bear the burn of humiliation when a sharp slap came down onto my bum, eliciting a loud cry from me.

This is okay, right? Getting oxygen into my lungs should not require more than a cry, right? Pleasetelllmetheyarenotgoingtodosomethingmorehumiliatingthanthis. (Please tell me they are not going to do something more humiliating than this.)

I jinxed myself, I realized, when the midwife parted my legs and got an eyeful of my privates.

Inwardly, I wailed in shame whereas on the outside, I only flushed redder than a tomato, closing my legs shyly. …Needless to say, after today, I am so never going to get married.

After a round of weighing, measuring, and cleaning, I was finally wrapped in a baby pink towel and handed into the hands of the woman who I have been anticipating for quite a while now.

One slender hand wrapped around me, whereas on the other, my twin was held.

For the first time ever, in the dim light which illuminated the room, we took the opportunity to examine each other, eyes squinting with all the effort we needed.

I was only mildly surprised to find that my twin was a whole lot bigger than I was. Given the position I have been locked in for far longer than I wanted (a position which made getting necessities far harder than it should be), it was of no shock to me. Still, no one would not feel a sense of despair when she finds out that she shall never be bigger than her twin. It's just the way twins are build, I suppose.

Looking at the fluffy cheeks, sincere onyx eyes, and a head of several strands of raven hair though, I decided that everything I sacrificed up in those long, gruelling months was not for naught. Just knowing that he would grow up with a normal psyche, not shunned, made me happy. Not to mention, I haven't died in the process.

My twin examined me for a while as well before smiling a painfully adorable grin, reaching out for me.

"The smaller one is a female and the bigger is a male." The midwife, an old woman, announced grimly. "With how long they've been in you though…I'm not surprised that this may happen. That girl may grow up to be a lot smaller compared to other babies, including that one."

Ace cooed at me and I smiled.

Another man added gruffly.

"This was why I didn't want you to have them! Better get rid of the devil's children than to risk your health!"

I blinked, surprised. 'Devil's children?' What on earth…?

"Dear!" The midwife scolded admonishingly.

"Thank you, but since this was that man's children, I still want them afterall." A motherly, exhausted voice breathed near my ear.

I whined as I was pulled away from Ace and pressed into the crook of the woman's neck. The scent of flowers was overpowering, and I briefly took in her beautiful pinkish locks, wondering if I inherited them by luck.

"If it's a girl, it's Ann. If it's a boy, it's Ace." Her lashes tickled my cheeks, eliciting a soft giggle, and I could see a flash of warm chocolate orbs glistening with emotion. "…That's what he decided."

A bead of tear slid down her face despite her radiant smile.

Frowning, I reached up to wipe the tear away. Such a beautiful woman should not shed such sad tears. My free hand reached forward to grab Ace's hand, silencing his growing whimpers. Without needing a word to be said, Ace snuggled towards me and Rouge's warmth, assured by our presence apparently.

"Ace and Ann." Rouge sighed, cuddling us both. "Their names are Gol D. Ace and Gol D. Ann."

I flinched in surprise when she rubbed her cheek against mine and Ace's affectionately. Once. Twice. Thrice. Subconsciously, I leaned into her neck, taking comfort in the gentle manner she held us.

"Ace…Ann…" She smiled despite the waterfall of tears.

I smiled back myself, pushing myself closer despite Ace's silent whimpers.

When someone is born, he is born crying while the world smiles in joy. And when someone passes on, he smiles while the world cries. But even though I ought to be crying, is it okay if I smile, just for a little while, to give her this last image of us smiling as she leaves?

"Thank you." The words she murmured into my ears surprised me. Her tears came showering onto my face. She sobbed. "Thank you…"

I do not know how long we stayed in that position neither do I know what she was thanking us for. The petals of the hibiscus fell apart some time during her sobbing and smiling. I did not even notice when her warmth faded away, leaving us on a stony cold surface.

Then, the world was right once again and tears slid down my pink cheeks quietly.

"Rouge!"

"Rouge! Hang in there!"

Through the voices and Ace's sobs that sounded eerily like those at my death, I pressed myself into her fading warmth as if to bury myself within her again, longing for the warmth which protected us for twenty months.

…

Gol D. Ace. Rouge. Devil.

It took me far too long to process those words. In the spur of the moment, I had become too focused on the loss of the mother I was looking forward to having, too overwhelmed by the unfathomable yet somehow meaningful despair that I felt.

My final clue came in the form of a man:

Monkey D. Garp

…

Demon. Monster. It.

That was what they knew her by.

The brothel's master was surprised one day when Monkey D. Garp, an old acquaintance, walked straight into his place and very promptly, dumped the little bundle into his hands.

"I entrust this girl into your hands. Her name is Portgas D. Ann."

With those words, his friend of justice marched off to find his next victim, presumably for the other infant in his hands.

Left without an explanation, the Master could only shake his head in hopelessness. That Garp…

His first plan had been, of course, to abandon the infant. When thoughts hit about Garp's reaction though, he switched to his second plan: Raising It.

Just like that, the Master took the infant in and it soon became part of his close-knitted family. It was accepted in the speed of light by his parents, who had been mourning the infertility of his wife, though naturally, there were still some objections.

The Master's wife, the Mistress, loathed _It_ with a fervent passion. Driven by jealousy and an omnipresent fear that some other woman may take her place as the Master's wife, she dished out all possible arguments at the first family gathering until she was talked down to by the Master. Even now, the Master could laugh all day at her arguments.

What unnatural, un-infant like eyes? All he could see were a set of large brown eyes. So what if the baby keeps quiet when ordered to? It only made this more convenient for them. In the end, the Master chucked up things to the Mistress' jealousy of others' fertility.

Just like that, a trace of doubt was allowed to remain in the system. Within three years of the infant's arrival, that tiny trace became deep rooted in the brothel. It started off small, spreading to the new arrivals in those three years, then it grew due to a subtle threat the Mistress placed the prostitutes (Their girls, the Master like to term) under.

Anyone who associates with It would be fired because It brings hatred to all people around it. Any negative events should be associated with It. Any misfortune can be chucked onto It. It must have something to do with every object that went missing. It is something much _lower_ than an average three year old girl.

The main reason why most prostitutes even believed their Mistress' teachings was probably because they all noticed It's unnatural gaze.

Her solemn chocolate eyes were always blank – a wall erected between society and herself – a look which the prostitutes recognized as the ones they donned during their jobs. The way her lips pursued into a tight line told of her discontent. These features were the perfect beginnings of a good prostitute – professionalism and greed for a higher standing.

They feared and hated her.

Fear, however, was perhaps the most rampant within the one with the most hate, however.

The Mistress could still recall the day It had adopted that blank expression with vivid clearness.

It had been a day of storms and thunder. Passing by with her usual chores of taking down the laundry, the Mistress was startled when she sensed a presence behind her. She turned just as a clap of thunder roared, illuminating the area with its flippant glow.

"Momma." The demon child stood before her, staring up at her ghastly with its hands extended. It tilted its head hopefully. "Momma…Carry me?"

Those were the first words the demon child had spoken since its arrival, yet there was not a hint of stutter or uncertainty. The Mistress knew, then and there, that this demon child is unnatural. In a brothel such as theirs, those words were close to never spoken, muchless around this child. Yet, that child still knows those words, saying them as though it has spoken them even _before_ it was born.

–And that was the source of all her fears and doubts. The child is doing things without being taught to, like standing, writing, and even now, _talking_. L…Like it already knew how to do them since it was born.

With eyes widened in mortification, the Mistress slapped the hands away from her.

The _demon_ fell down with a thump, looking up at her with those intelligent chocolate brown eyes which filled with a hurt that elicited some guilt from her.

"Stop it." She snapped sharply to the child, glaring hatefully at it. "Stop pretending like a two year old already, you monster!"

A flash of surprise flickered past its face before a crestfallen look befell on it.

"Stop looking sad. Stop looking happy. Stop looking at my husband. Stop looking at me."

The Mistress snarled. Flashes of memory of those eerie eyes staring blankly flickered passed with each sentence she ended. Her voice sounded calm yet grating, pleading yet threatening. This child is a monster, she was convinced, and if she continues to act human, the Mistress knew she would be illusioned by her demeanour as well.

"Stop talking. Stop lying. Stop breathing. Stop…"

She ranted.

Anything. Anything to erase this monster from her life.

Silence fell between them when she ended, panting heavily, before It looked down.

"I'm sorry…"

"Stop talking." the Mistress ordered sharply again.

It fell silent and closed its eyes. When those chocolate orbs opened again, they were emotionless. Lips pinched into a permanent frown, the demon turned away quietly and slipped away from her.

Ever since, it had not spoken a single word or let a single emotion slip past again.

…

Humans are too sensitive, I realized.

With our intolerance to even other humans of other races, I was foolish to have revealed my knowledge of my other life. Humans are intolerant, we were made that way, and throughout history, this flaw of ours has been repeated too many times to count.

The Mistress was a perfect example of what would have happened if I showed a bit of my knowledge. Her sanity slightly cracked and I was thought as a demon, a monster. I find myself relieved that she was the first I revealed things to, however, for it means that I would know what precaution to take with the more critical characters of this world.

Though…I have to wonder why the infant in me is acting up now.

How funny…Even though I knew logically, scientifically, strategically I should not feel bad for a stranger whom I don't know, some…somehow, the tears of disappointment kept trickling down my cheeks.

She could have been my mother, I realized with a sniffle. One sniff gave way to another and a sob tore out of my lips, buried under another clap of thunder. With just a little bit more of tolerance and patience, that woman could have become my mother. Rouge could never be replaced, even I knew that, but still…

…she could have been my mother.

…

At the tender age of five years old, Monkey D. Garp revealed to Ace the truth of his birth.

Eyes betraying his conflicting emotions and filled with so, _so_ much fury, Ace had taken in the words without a single protest, the betrayal was shining brighter in those chocolate brown eyes. When it all finally ended, Garp was unsurprised but so very lost when Ace dodged into his room, slamming the door shut with a force that shook the whole shed.

"Geez…You sure are insensitive as always, Garp." Dadan deadpanned, a hand perched on her hip.

"Huh?" Garp glared at her.

"N-Nothing! I said absolutely nothing, Garp-_san_!" Dadan squealed in fear.

"Tch!"

Garp looked away from the curious mountain bandits. As much as he hated to admit it, perhaps, just perhaps, he should have revealed the truth only when Ace was much older and open-minded. Dadan's words were like pouring salt on a fresh wound; Bitter facts that he could not accept as they are. Even as he is, he still wanted to be known as a good Grandpa in Ace's eyes.

For the rest of his stay however, Garp did not catch a glimpse of Ace.

As he was leaving, the little boy Garp had grown so fond of finally showed himself. With four little words, he rendered the shed's occupants speechless, staring incredulously at his newly affixed, stern expression. Ace huffed, shifting his huge backpack.

"W-W-What did you say?!" Garp roared.

"I'm coming with you, Jiji. I want to see my little sister." With beady brown eyes levelled with Garp's own, Ace pronounced the next words clearly and slowly. "Take me to where she is."

"No. Absolutely not!" Garp yelled, exhaling sharply.

"Wait, Garp-san! Hear out the boy first-!"

"No! There's no way I would bring a pesky little brat like you with me!"

"Come on, Garp-san! It won't be that bad, will it?" One of the bandits crooned.

"The seas are a rough place, you know that!" Garp protested.

"You guys, I want you to keep your mouths shut!" Dadan raised her voice over theirs.

"But, Boss!"

"Dadan, I order you to keep Ace from following me at all costs!"

"Garp-san!" She yelled incredulously. "That's going too far-!"

"She is my other half." The scowl in the rough voice broke their argument. Ace lowered his eyes, still staring pleadingly at him.

Garp's breath was caught in his throat when Ace, one of his two precious _family_, lowered himself into a _dogeza_, kneeling on the ground _to him of all people_. Eyes wide, Garp felt an overwhelming sense of guilt hit him like a car.

"She is my only family in this world. Please, Jiji, take me to her." The hurt in that young voice, however much Ace tried to hide it, spilled over and showed visibly.

"Ace, what are you-?!" Dadan exclaimed in shock.

"Hurry up and stand, Ace! No mountain bandit should be bowing to another person!" One of Dadan's henchmen yelled, shocked.

Garp sucked in a shaky breath, dragging a large palm down his face to hide the exhaustion he suddenly felt.

In that moment, Garp found himself sympathizing with Ace more than ever. The kid, his precious grandson, just found out that he was Roger's child, and being that by itself placed him within enemy territory (_His _charge, Garp realized with a jolt of pain) every moment of the day. It's like the whole world is rejecting him.

If there's anyone who could possibly comprehend Ace, it might be the boy's twin.

If there's anyone who shouldn't be telling Ace what to do…It's him.

Turning around, Garp hid his pain masterfully and gave the doorframe a slight punch.

"Enough!" Garp yelled. He could not find it in himself to look into Ace's eyes. "I'll go and pick her up myself. After that, I'll bring her back here without any U-turns."

Gasps of relief. The creaking of the floorboards that signalled Ace standing back up. Dadan groaned about having a new charge, anticipation shining through her voice despite that.

Through it all, Garp did all he could to hide the pain in his eyes.

…

She has grown larger in those five years he left her.

Raven locks, much akin to Ace's but less curly, were grown down to her waist, framing the tiny heart shape face she inherited from her mother. Large chocolate browns peered up at him blankly, emotionless in a manner that reminded Garp of those dolls he had seen somewhere. Or those prostitutes around here, for that matter.

She was painfully pale and small, reaching no higher than Ace's chest, probably. Most of all, she was thin, barely succeeding in not looking malnourished under the thick layers of kimono she was donned in.

Garp's heart clenched when he was looking at her, his eyes wide with even more guilt than before. With gaping lips, he turned to stare at his supposedly _trustworthy_ friend, feeling more betrayed than ever. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger.

"Why is she so small?!" He accused.

The Master of the brothel only lifted his hand innocently, shaking his head.

"I don't know why, but even though we kept feeding her, she never does eat a lot. And even then, she grows slower than her peers." He reasoned.

"Then how would you explain her expression?! That blank look your girls always have on them!" Garp yelled.

"I-I don't know!" The Master yelled back. "It's just that one day, she suddenly picks up that expression out of nowhere and started refusing to speak to us or even show a little bit of emotion! You don't know how much we've tried to get a response out of her!"

"She's a monster." The sudden sentence from the Mistress shocked Garp into silence.

With her haunted features and the heavy bags under her eyes, the Mistress turned to stare at the girl, eyes widening every second with fear. The girl only stared back blankly, silently. But even then, Garp could feel a challenging glint in the girl's eyes, as if she was engaging in a silent competition between the two females in the room.

"Without us teaching a thing, she already knew how to speak, write, and do things since you brought her here." The Mistress stated in a daze. "She never speaks. She never cries. She never shows any expression. It's a demon."

Wha…? Garp turned to stare at his friend, noticing the bewildered features on the man's face as he, too, stared at his wife in disbelief.

"What are you saying, dear?" The Master tried to seem calm.

"It's the truth." She merely stated.

Suddenly, Garp knew that he had made a huge mistake. He should never have left the girl here when he was finding candidates for the children. He should have brought the girl to Dadan's, left her there with Ace. Perhaps then, Ace would not be hating him so much now and the girl could have showed a hint of expression.

"You didn't have to put it in such a manner-" The master was interrupted.

Clenching his eyes in guilt, Garp forced himself to face reality as he turned to the Mistress.

"I just want to know one thing." He said, watching as the Mistress' beady eyes slowly and unsteadily turned to him. Garp continued lowly. "Have you ever referred to Ann by her name, even once?"

A minute passed and he knew his answer.

"Good!" Garp barked and glared. "Then I can take her off your hands without guilt."

He easily picked up the girl (_too light. Must tell Dadan to force her to eat one of the mountain bandit portions_) despite the slight flinch she gave and placed her at the crook of his arm, just like years before as he was leaving Portgas D. Rouge's house.

"You may not see me to the gate." Garp frowned at the couple and left.

No one came chasing after him.

Throwing a glimpse down at Ann, Garp's eyes widened before they darted away. Scratching his head with his free hand awkwardly, the marine hero wondered if he ought to pretend that he did not see the unshed tears in those large brown eyes or comfort the tiny, silent girl.

Garp settled for a sigh and continued walking.

"Er…How do I put this?" Garp looked away at the skies which were painted orange. Well, his wife has always said it is best to be straightforward. He coughed. "I'm sorry, Ann, for putting you up with those bastards and not checking in for these five years. Really," Garp turned to the girl and bowed his head down sincerely. "Really sorry."

Silence responded. Dread settled at the pits of his stomach, wondering if Ann would be like a second Ace, when a tiny hand climbed its way through his grey locks and took a handful of it.

Garp blinked at the inquisitive stare of the girl. He grinned and winced.

"Hey, Ann, stop that!"

…

The first night along their travels, Garp had slept with his little granddaughter in the large cabin bed.

Lying on his back with his eyes closed in faked sleep, Garp had listened to the tossing and turning of Ann all night long, unable to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long while. The few times the twisting had stopped and the girl had actually dozed off into a light sleep, she had woken up with heavy gasps, her tiny sobs muffled almost instinctively using her own hand. Then, she would twist to look at his 'sleeping' figure as if to make sure he is still asleep.

It broke his heart knowing that this was the result of his negligence. Each time she woke, he swore to himself that he would do something right this time round – that he would protect his granddaughter this time round.

Without thinking, he swung his thick muscular arm around his tiny granddaughter's frame and hugged her into his side. She froze, flinching in fear.

Garp waited patiently for Ann to relax into his large hand before he sighed with the daze from his 'sleep'.

"Want your Oji-chan to sing you a lullaby?" He suggested gruffly.

He did not wait for his reply to come before he was already singing the lullaby his wife usually sang to Dragon. It was horribly out of tune, he would know, and he ended up humming the parts where the lyrics had faded beyond his memories.

Still, in time, Ann's little body relaxed and Garp fell asleep with a grin, a trail of drool slipping from the side of his mouth.

When he woke up, he found Ann clinging onto him tighter, burying her face into his sleeve with a quiet murmur which he imagined to be 'Ji-chan'.

Garp only grinned.

…

When Ace had said he wanted to see his little sister, he had not expected to have her returned in so many broken little pieces.

Ignoring the bewildered glint in his grandson's eyes, Garp had only chortled as clamorously as always before shoving the girl into Ace's arms and left for a talk with Dadan.

Frustration welled up briefly at his grandpa's nonchalance to his feelings. He was a demon's child! Why does Garp still let him live?! Isn't this even crueller than killing him whilst he was in his mother's womb-?! But feeling the tiny flinch his little sister gave, Ace pushed aside the red in his eyes and turned to take her form in.

She was so tiny, was Ace's first impression.

Long raven locks cascaded down either sides of her face, providing her with a silent beauty which Ace knew would be attractive to others their age. Her face lacked the dimples which Ace shared with his mother. And her miniscule hands, as they clung onto him for support, were light as feathers. Ace stared as large chocolate brown eyes were turned to him, the blankness of her face lightened by the things he saw in those eyes.

Those eyes…

In Garp's eyes, he had only seen the indifference in them, but to Ace who was both a child and her twin, he saw beyond that. His own chocolate brown pools widened when he saw the unspoken pain laced within them, the calculative tint and equations which Ace himself lacked, a pool of swirling emotions, and more pronounced, was a sense of being _so very lost_.

Subconsciously, Ace's hands trembled where they were placed on her shoulders.

Those eyes…

They are like a mirror to his after he discovered his origins.

She reminded him of a more pained and less temperamental version of himself. Even though he was reckless, he at least has his anger to release all the pent up stress, but unlike him, his little sister can only bottle up the emotions until they erupt.

They were both children, monster's children, and they were both lost and drowning in the world's orthodox and unforgiving view. No one else can stand up for them other than themselves; No one else will. Garp was a marine, and the rest of their company are not exactly what you might call reliable.

It was a blood curling epiphany that the soft-hearted five year old suddenly got: they were the only ones they have in this cold, cruel world of theirs, and no one, especially not the adults, can be trusted.

Suddenly, Ace felt like crying.

_But he was the older one, wasn't he? He must stay strong._

He was a demon's child, and so is his little sister.

_He was relieved, so very relieved to know that someone is the same as him. Yet…He felt horrible to want someone to suffer this hell with him._

His grandpa, the only stability in his life so far, was his enemy.

_Why?! Why must you let us live?!_

…And there is no one except her and him.

No one except the two of them.

Quietly, Ace leaned in and wrapped his arms painfully around his little sister.

She flinched, struggling against him until she noticed the shaking of his much larger frame. With all too much hesitance, his little sister lifted her arms and placed them around his shivering body in a comforting manner. Tiny fingers dragged their way to his hair, massaging his scalp gently as he tried to hide his tears by burying his face in her hair.

"I'm sorry." Ace choked.

_For crying. For being weak. For not letting you cry before me. _

_For existing in this world._

"I'm sorry." He cried.

Throughout it all, she never once moved away from him.

…

He is a curious little boy with a set of rounded brown eyes, adorable dimples, and a round circular face. Like a human personification of the daunting task that I am about to face in the future, he towered over me, his face reminding me endlessly of the possibly altered future, of the people that will die because of my existence, of how this is no longer just a book…

Tiny in face with him, I watched as his large form crumbled into pieces for the first time ever and supported his big body with as much strength as I can gather.

"I'm sorry." He sobbed.

The fat tears which trickled down, hot on his cheeks were the ones I had refused to shed all this time. I shut my eyes as he cried more, sobbing long enough for the both of us.

"…I'm sorry…"

…

"Clairvoyance?

This is no clairvoyance, neither is it a book.

It is just the struggles of a girl to save the world from herself."

\- Gol D. Ann

…

Author's Note: I don't know how many of you read A/N, but I'll place this here anyway to explain some things.

Garp may seem a little bit OOC to some of you guys, but I think it is only natural that a granddaddy would feel upset after making his grandson feel betrayed. Any granddaddy would feel as if they have failed their grandchild, and having acid poured into his wound by knowing that he failed yet _another_ child, it's only right that Garp became a lot angrier than he normally would when he found out about my OC's foster parents. Hence, his rude attitude in that scene.

For Ace, I tried making him seem more in character, but it is difficult since I only know of what he's like at ten and twenty. I believe that he initially loved Garp very much until the truth of his birth was revealed to him. Who wouldn't feel betrayed knowing that your granddad is someone who could arrest you at any time, and that your granddad left you at a mountain bandit's house most likely because he couldn't stand seeing his failure? Ace tries hard to be mean to Garp at first and is thrown off by Garp's nonchalant attitude (To Garp, Ace is Roger's son from the beginning and he still is, so there's no need to change his behaviour even after revealing the truth), which explains his frustration and pent up stress at the last scene. Having someone to trust allows all stress to be released, also explain the tears and sappy moment.

If you have any other inquiries, please review or PM me. I shall try to explain in my next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

…

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."

\- Mother Teresa

…

The world is like a suffocating ocean, pressing down on me consistently.

Confusion. Wistfulness. Loneliness.

These feelings have never felt more profound than in these five years of my new life.

I am an anomaly in this new world, someone never meant to exist, and thoughts on the changed future never fail to leave my mind. Should I die now, if only to minimize the effects? Should I run away to a far off place to never meet them (the characters) again? As I laid next to Garp in his cabin, those questions circled my mind.

In the end, I still chose life over death.

Perhaps it was selfish, but despite all the pain, I still longed to live. I want to take responsibility for my existence and to see the world through the ripples I have caused. To make sure Ace, that tiny life I have grown fond of, lives happily…I wanted to ensure at least that much.

Drowning in the knowledge of the lost future, I opened my lips and breathed in a mouthful of water.

If only for Ace…I want to be strong enough to protect him.

…

Was it good that he was born?

Even after finding Ann, that question still pesters him.

In the time Garp was gone, Ace had thought through many things.

The fact that he is Gol D. Roger's son will never leave him. The answers those men gave him can never be forgotten either. He is a monster's child, and by having the demon's blood in him, he is a demon as well. He ought to die. He ought to kill himself. And his grandfather should never have shown him mercy at his birth.

Was it weird for a five year old to think such about suicide?

He doubted any child of Gol D. Roger would not do the same.

Ace envies the normal children for that naïve world they get to continue to live in. Every day, he ponders how he can ever live a little more like them, if only to erase that monster's blood from him.

But that's not possible, is it? Blood relationships can never be eradicated.

Recently, his nightmares have changed.

Instead of the men murdering him over and over again, he would be tied up, helpless and screaming, as he watched them descend upon his little sister with daggers and knives and guns…Ace was forced to see Ann die numerous times in that same way Dadan and the bandits always kill those rich people…or the way those people at Grey Terminal massacre each other…or with one of Garp's fists of love.

Ace decides after the nth time he wakes up in a fit of sweat that everyone was their enemy.

The adults, Garp, Dadan and the bandits…everyone.

Only Ann was on his side.

Only…his younger sister.

Was it good that he was born?

Ace did not know.

But…He just knew that he thought it was good that Ann was born. Ann brought light to his life every day, comforting him just by providing a little bit of understanding and her constant presence. He never once doubted her existence, and he swore he would protect her simply because of her role in his life.

But if Ann's existence was good…does it mean that his is as well?

He breathed as he closed his eyes, allowing the world's web of lies and truths and opinions and its sheer weight to drag him down a little more into the unending darkness.

Ace just didn't know.

…

It was his protectiveness that drove Garp to abandon them in the forest one day.

"Find your way back to Dadan's within a week, or you would have to spend another two more weeks with the mountain monkeys when you get back."

He grinned widely when Ace jumped back up, seething at him in a long string of curses. His eyes could not help but zoom in on the boy's protective hand on Ann despite his grandson's anger, and he gave an inward nod of approval. Even though Ann was still his grandchild, he tended to be softer on her simply because of her gender.

Though, strength is a thing they both require for survival as Roger's children.

"Bwahaha!" Garp laughed, folding his burly arms. "You might want to get started if you want to make it in time! And just one warning: There will be a storm coming in three days. You might want to watch out."

"If you're worried about us, then take us back! Who the hell leaves two five year olds in the middle of nowhere?!" Ace shouted.

Garp grinned and tossed out his usual line.

"This is all to make you stronger!" He said and he turned on his heels. "Now, you better start going or the mountain monkeys will come!"

"Tch." Ace spat.

Ann stood up and followed him quietly as he stomped off, sending Garp one last stare.

Then, the twins were gone.

"Finally! My eardrums were getting blasted by that temperamental brat!" Garp dug his fingers into his ears as he begun trekking down to Windmill Village. After that worrisome twins, he still has to look after Luffy; Woop Slap would go on another rant otherwise. "Noisy mayor." He grumbled.

Still, as the village begun to come into view, he could not help but wonder about the meaning behind Ann's stare.

Was she worried? Was she angry?

Garp could never understand his granddaughter.

Passing through the large gates, Garp grinned at the large crowd awaiting his arrival. From behind Makino, a child not much younger than Ace and Ann tossed himself onto Garp, his tiny hands struggling to wrap around the entire of Garp's large waist. Luffy looks up and gave the very same grin he has not seen from Ace in a long time. A happy one, unlike Ann's blank face.

"You finally came back, Grandpa!"

Garp smiled.

…

Once upon a time, should she ever be estranged in a forest like this, she would have bawled her eyes out.

Once upon a time, when her arms and legs were not gifted with the hereditary D strength, she would not have stopped walking after several hours and lain down, allowing all predators to come after her.

Once upon a time, she would not have had a brother accompanying her, protecting her back.

Once upon a time, she would definitely have died.

But now, once upon a time was not the present.

"Damn that old geezer! Always putting us into these situations…If we were any normal children, we would have long since died!" Ace raged, plucking one thick branch off a tree.

Quietly, Ann followed his example and placed it securely against her shoulder. This would be their weapon for the next few days…

The first time Garp had left them at the bottom of a river valley, it had been hell. For both Ace and Ann, it had both been their first experience being placed under survival training by Garp. Not to mention, since all creatures require water to survive, they had to sneak pass or even defeat numerous mountain animals as they trekked back. Weaponless, seeing how they had been too foolish at that time to prepare for attacks.

There was a large sigh as Ace fell back in step with her, glancing at her with lidded eyes as always. In return, she gave him a questioning look.

"It's nothing." He stated, folding his arms with ghost of smile. "It's just…Being around you makes me calmer, that's all."

He always says that. Ann tilted her head in puzzlement. Him, Garp and the bandits all do.

The conversation stops there. Ace knew as well as she did that the energy should be conserved for later on.

Hours slid by in silence as they made their way uphill. Once or twice, Ann would trip over her feet – clumsiness from her past life never fails to leave her – and Ace would catch her, just like he always does. For several dozen times, Ann would stop and collect edible herbs for much later uses. And more than a handful of times, a predator would appear.

Her sharper ears catching the slight shuffle of dried leaves, Ann saw the wolf earlier than Ace did and pushed him down to the ground. The wolf sailed over them in mid-air.

"A wolf, huh." Ace grunted in realization.

Pulling away from her, he charged in with his spiky branch. The wolf opened its jaws in ready for a large howl, when Ace stuck the branch right between its teeth.

"Ann!" He yelled.

Ann surged forward, pushing her own branch into the wolf's throat and through it. The branch came out from the back of its neck with a nasty squash. The wolf whined, sinking into the ground as it struggled some more trying to get the appendix out.

"Heh. Nice job!" Ace gave her a thumbs-up.

Without returning the gesture, Ann grabbed Ace and ran, jumping up the bumpy rocks of a low cliff where the wolf had tried to corner them. If there was one, there was more, and she feared the reaction of the pack to its dying member.

More than a couple of times, Ace and Ann found themselves running rather than battling. Ace, being the temperamental and overconfident boy he was, he had tried challenging the animals a couple of times but Ann only pulled him away. She wondered if this was how Sabo felt when he cared for Ace.

As the sun was setting down, they decided to set up camp on a particularly huge tree. It would protect them from the predators on the land, not to mention, they could pick several fruits to eat. In short, it was the best place they had at the moment.

"Berries, plants, fruits…" Ace's face held a boyish grin as he gazed up at her. "As usual, you're so overly prepared for everything, Ann. But that's my intelligent little sis, I suppose!" He patted her gently on the back.

Ann was caught between frowning and smiling, but she opted for the later with a rare smile crossing her lips.

Ace caught her expression with his eagle eyes and his grin only grew wider.

"You know, you really ought to smile more." She cringed as his fingers pinched her cheek lightly. She scowled. "You look really pretty smiling, and it makes you younger…Not that you aren't already. On a second thought, forget that. Any more smiles and you'll look like a baby."

Ann did not miss the irony; Ace always did look much older than their actual age.

With a deeper scowl, she punched his shoulder with just enough force to hurt, and he burst out laughing.

She huffed, gazing up at the sky.

Even in the darkest clouds, there's always a silver lining. If there was one thing good about these adventures Garp forces them on, it is the fact that they get to see the stars – a rare view that required the skies to not be tainted by the nobles. Far out, she could see the ocean shining brilliantly under the light of the stars and moon. A few splashes were visible as sea kings danced out of the water and back.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Ace sighed blissfully.

He leaned back against the tree trunk, arms behind his head in a manner that was like an old man.

Ann hid her amusement and leaned beside him, shuddering at the comforting warmth he always seems to radiate. Before the Flare Flare fruit, it seems like he was already the epitome of warmth, both inside and out.

"You know…I've never really told you before, Ann, but my dream is to go out into the seas some day." He said, eyes shining gently in the light. She looked up at him. "Not as a marine, but as a pirate. I want to be free from everything."

Everything, she repeated in her mind. There has always been one thing she was concerned about. She tilted her head, shooting him a concerned glance.

Understanding Ace, always able to read her inner emotions, knew her question at a glance.

"Of course, it only means I will become closer to _him_," He spat the word out with much hatred. "But even so, I just want to be as free as I can. More than anyone…More than him…"

She sensed his insecurity as he pulled her closer to his side with an arm.

"Of course, when the time comes, I will bring you along with me. I don't want to leave you alone on this island, with that bastard of a grandfather. I want you to be as free as me when I sail on the seas. And I want to see you happy as well." He paused, looking back down at her. "…Will you come with me?"

The words astound her to no ends.

Looking into his childish yet mature, dark yet bright eyes, she found herself unable to lie.

Slowly, she pulled herself from him and shook her head gently, watching in pain as his face contorted into a mask of rejection.

How she longed to use her voice to speak to him, but…if she ever speaks again, she knew she would be tempted to do so after this.

Pressing a hand to her heart, she sat it firmly against the ground before doing the same to his heart and pointing to the ocean. She did not know if her message was sufficiently clear for a five year old to interpret, but she hope it was.

'_My heart belongs here. But I can see yours belong to the ocean, so please go and chase after your dream with all your might.'_

"…I see." He whispered, hurt still present in those brown eyes of his.

Ann lifted her hand and once again slid them through his hair like she did a month ago, massaging his scalp comfortingly.

Things cannot change, that was something she wanted to make sure of. And even though Ace's safety cannot be assured out there without her, somehow, she just felt that Ace's entry into the Whitebeard Pirates was something that was fated. Ace would be alright even without her….At least, until Blackbeard rebels. Whitebeard would do all he can to protect Ace, and Ace can finally find the person he needs the most in his life to heal his wounds.

Until then, she has to grow stronger. She needed more power, not just from herself but others as well, such that she can take over Whitebeard when his power weakens and together, they can then protect Ace.

To do that, they must separate.

Ace still had that same heartbroken expression despite her message.

He needed something more to distract him.

Closing her eyes, Ann decided to make a concession just this once. In a low tune, she hummed a familiar cheerful tune that belonged to the pirates. She has never been more glad to know 'Bink's Sake'.

She wonders what expression he had. She hummed for what felt like forever, her throat aching from being unused for far too long. But still, she did not open her eyes until she heard the first snores coming from her side. His head drops down onto her shoulders, a bubble escaping his nose.

His sleeping expression was sweet, the freckles on his cheeks making him look like his age once again.

Ann smiled in amusement.

He's heavy.

With a soft smile, she overlooked Ace until sleep dragged her in forcefully.

…

The second and third day continued in a similar manner.

In a practiced manner, the twins kept their stamina and continued trekking. Up was the only way. The mountains were too big to search, but from above, they could recognize all its features and make their way down to Dadan's.

As the altitude increased, the level of danger the predators posed increased as well; They grew in size. They ran more than they fought, and even when they did fight, it was for the sole purpose of getting some meat.

Then, on the forth day, just as Garp said…A storm came.

…

Ann can never thank Garp enough for at least warning them about the storm; It gave them time to prepare for it.

With all firewood already gathered on the third day, all they needed to do was to find a suitably located cave in the middle of the thick forest and to make it cosy for them.

While Ace started the fire – he was more used to doing it than she was – she went out to gather some food for the next few days. They had collected a fair amount of fruits and herbs from the first three days, but it never hurt to get more. Above her, the clouds rolled in large clumps, oddly enough reminding her of Garp's grey hair. She stifled a laugh and continued gathering.

The first drop of rain soon fell from the heavens. She was just ducking back into the cave when they both heard a screech coming from the distance. It was the yell of a human.

"…You heard that?" Ace muttered, gazing at her, alert.

She nodded.

By all means, they should stay in their own shelter, away from the danger that was posed to them just by being outside. Still, even with Ace being as reluctant as he is, they still could not find it in themselves to abandon the poor fool out there.

They left the shelter, crouching carefully as they ran.

By now, all the animals have ducked under shelter. The predators should be at their dens now, hiding away from the storm. Besides the buckets of water poured down on them, there was no other obstruction.

"Ann! He's here!" Ace yelled. She could hardly see him under the raindrops.

It was Ace's signature red shirt that allowed him to find them. Through the falling rain, Ann could barely make out another child a few centimeters shorter than Ace, donning all black with a large top hat miraculously not blown away lying beside him.

Her blood froze as she realized who it was.

"Ann! Can you pick up his things?!" Ace yelled.

She nodded and grabbed them, pulling and tossing the mental goggles on the top hat far away. If there was one thing she knew about storms, it was the fact that metal becomes a synonym to danger.

Ace dragged the boy over his shoulder as Ann ran before him, making things thankfully easier by pushing aside large leaves or lending him a hand to support his new weight or pushing down branches for him to hold on so, since the flowing mud no longer provided sufficient support.

The twins made their way back skillfully, and by some strange twist of the hereditary D luck, Ann recall turning back when there was a flash of lightning – just to see it striking somewhere near where they had found the boy. A chill was sent down her spine with the epiphany that perhaps, just perhaps…they may not have survived if she had not abandoned that pair of goggles.

By the time they plopped back into the cave, nothing could describe the sheer relief Ann felt.

That…was the closest they have ever been to death, or in Ann's case, in this life.

"…This big stupid idiot!" Ace cursed through gritted teeth, throwing the boy down onto the ground. "Going around the forest in such a big storm…And all alone, at that!"

Ann agreed with his words, but found his action to be unnecessarily violent.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the water, she gingerly picked up the blond boy from the ground and lay him down on his bag pack. From the waterproof bag, she then extracted several pieces of clothes the boy had thankfully packed for himself and lifted a white button-up shirt and brown pants for him.

"Mh…" Ace grunted and accepted it. "At least we got new clothes, I guess. D-Don't look at me, kay?"

Ann hid a smile and shook her head at Ace's shyness. How did 'this' became 'that' (shameless flaunting half-naked man in the future)?

She selected a black shirt for herself and changed into it quickly with her back turned to Ace. The shirt was big enough to reach her knees since she was much tinier than both boys, so she decided not to steal some pants from the boy.

Hm…For the boy, since he only had two sets of fresh clothes…He will have to deal with just cyan pants and his long blue jacket.

"Ann, I'm done." Ace called.

She looked up and smiled in amusement at the finished product, watching his cheeks colour at once.

"W-W-What?! I've never worn clothes like this, o-okay?!" His voice hitched.

The buttons were all buttoned incorrectly.

Ann strode forward and gently helped him to re-button the shirt, leaving the top button open and tucking the rest of it loosely into his pants.

Ace became even more embarrassed, if that was possible. Well, anyone might be if they require their younger sibling to help them dress up.

"T-Thanks." Ace half-grunted and half-squeaked.

Ann smiled and turned towards the other boy present, pushing his set of clothes gently into Ace's hands.

"What?" It took three seconds to process before Ace looked up at her with serious lidded eyes. "…No." He stated gravely.

Ann nodded her head and pointed once more for emphasis.

"No. Nononono. I'm not going to help a grown boy change his clothes." Ace said, folding his arms.

Ann only gave him an odd look. Ace flushed once more.

"S-Sure, you helped me. But it doesn't mean I have to help him!" He stabbed a finger in the boy's direction.

Ann stared.

"No."

Ann stared again.

"N-No!"

Ann frowned.

"N-No…Okay, I will do it." He gave in with a sigh.

Ann nodded, the joy in her eyes making him remember once more why it was good she was born, and he snatched the clothes from her hands.

"D-Don't look." He said over his shoulders.

Ann nodded and sat facing the wall.

Ace cursed inwardly as he turned to the rescued boy.

Damn him for looking so happy in his sleep. When he wakes up, Ace swore he would give him hell.

…

Dried of all wetness, it was the morning after that she had noticed something was wrong.

Sitting up, her eyes widened as she sat her palm across his forehead. The unnatural heat drove her to wake her brother with rough shakes, brown eyes wide at her discovery. Ace groaned, his glare softening into a questioning gaze when he met her eyes.

"…What happened?" He asked.

Ann tugged his hand onto the boy's head, watching as Ace's dazedness transformed into shock.

"…Shit." Shit was right. Ann peeked out of the cave to find a mild drizzle still continuing. "To be sick when we're so high up the mountains…This idiot! What should we do?"

His eyes were wide, wavering with a horrid mixture of emotions that made both of them want to puke their guts out on the ground. Ann pursued her lips as she analyzed their situation, her eyes narrowing more with worry the more in-depth she read.

They were close to being at the top of the mountain, meaning they would have to face the worst of the dangers if they want to continue on their original route. On the other hand, the herbs are more than likely able to be found at the top, and by travelling back to Dadan's, they can get treatment for the boy. That being said, the third day was already tough enough, and she doubted they could continue this route with their newly added disability.

Another route was downhill, to where the villages are. Garp has always left them somewhere between the villages and the mountain so as to reinforce the marine security nearby. If they go down, medicine was guaranteed for the boy, although the dangers are similar: She alone would have to fight the animals off to make a path for Ace and the boy, and that path was much longer though less tedious than the one uphill.

So, up or down? Both options held dangers, and both were equally difficult.

There was, however, a third option.

To stay in the cave and wait until the boy awakes. But this option had a different set of risks: They had limited amount of food and water, things which were most precious to Ace given his upbringing. To tell Ace to give them to anyone is suicide.

She could remember the first time came back with a boar three weeks before. He had outright refused to give them to any of the bandits and beat up anyone who came close. It was not until Garp, the one who helped him catch the animal, chided him lightly did he give in and share, albeit still much reluctantly. She recalled his words back there, directed at her that night.

"_Everyone is an enemy." Ace spat despite stroking through her hair with gentle motions. _

_Ann wondered why the full moon seems so lonely in the sky until she realized the stars were blocked out by the haze coming from the central city._

"_We are alone in this world. No one is an ally, Ann. Not Dadan, not the bandits, and most certainly not Gramps. I will give them the meat this time round…But only because it will allow us to continue living here." Ace glanced into her eyes and scowled. "We are alone, Ann, but we will survive."_

"Ann, how long do you think the storm will last?" Ace questioned with determined eyes.

Ann paused to ponder and held up two fingers before shaking her head and replacing it with three.

"Two to three days, huh." Ace stated. He glared at the stranger with all his might, a furious scowl crossing his lips. "The food with you should last that long if it was only for the two of us, but not when this idiot is here and sick. …Do you think we can last if we give a portion to him?"

The words came as a shock to Ann.

She could recall seeing the reluctance in Ace's eyes when he saved the boy…feel his sense of responsibility being his only push factor. Ann did not doubt that Ace knew the pain of starvation but to care enough about the boy to give up his precious food? It was next to unthinkable.

Still, staring into shining brown eyes, Ann found a trace of hope.

This Ace is unlike the ten year old Ace she was familiar with in the future; He has yet to fully think of the world as his enemy, however much he wanted to. Perhaps, in the initial universe, this was how Sabo and Ace met, but whatever the case, she felt a sense of relief at her discovery. His words that night were not what he completely believed in.

With a tiny smile, she nodded shakily and turned to gather some things.

A rug, a container, herbs, berries, fresh water…

Some way along the line, she found herself swallowing back her tears and just thanking god that Sabo came along into their lives. He managed to do what she couldn't all this time with just his presence: He opened the door to their world.

For the first time ever, it felt like the gears in their frozen world were finally moving.

…

Ace thinks he will never understand.

He swore to himself that everyone is an enemy; It was the truth. But even so…he just could not deny a person who needs help when he is right before his eyes.

This is wrong.

Once the boy finds out their birthrights, he will just do the same as all the others; he will shun them and call them monsters, run away from them and live happily ever after in his life of normalcy. But there was just that tiny ray of hope in him.

Ace hoped that the boy would not shun them.

"This would be the last time." Ace gritted out between clenched teeth as he watched Ann change the wet cloth on the boy's forehead. His fists were shaking. His entire frame was shaking. "Gramps hurt us by lying. Dadan never wanted us to begin with. The world wants us to die. Everyone is an enemy."

He spat those words out like poison. Ann looks up intently at him, almost pleadingly.

"If he runs away…This would be the last time I will let us be hurt." Ace's brown eyes burned with hatred and regret and pain. "I'm sorry, Ann." _For being selfish._

But he did not say it aloud, because Ann always understands.

His little sister only nods her head, placing her hand comfortingly over his on his lap.

_It's okay._ He read from her eyes. _It's okay._

She begins humming that same tune from a few days before, pushing him lightly onto the soft ground beside the strange boy.

"Ann-" He protested.

She only shook her head.

Against his will, his stomach growled and he blushed, burying his face into the ground. There was a cough – to hide an impending laugh – before she continued her humming.

Before Ace knew it, the darkness already caught him in its grasp.

…

When he woke up, he heard gentle humming of a melodic tune coming from his side.

What…happened?

Sabo breathed deeply, his eyes heavily lidded and glazed as he tried to remember.

The memories that came back were of torture. All Sabo could recall was running out into the Grey Terminal in a sudden bout of childishness – to lament his upbringing and family – but never expected to be chased into that thick forest outside. And then, there were only struggles for survival: Everyday, sleeping in an unfamiliar place without a soft comfy bed beneath him, fearing whenever he heard a roar in the distance…Fighting off scary monsters with what little martial arts training his parents had given him…Eating the wrong things and puking…Strangled growls of hunger…

The pain was endless.

Sabo had tried to escape the forest but never could. In the end, he only found himself in a more dangerous part of it.

"Who…are you?" He croaked out through his blurry sight.

He had cried for help – so many times, but it never came. His parents did not look for him, he supposes, and he felt so terribly rejected by it. No one came other than that tiger back then…He had plenty of time to reflect, and he supposes now he never did deserve any help…especially not from the angered residents of the Grey Terminal, who suffered incessantly from the nobles' actions (if their living conditions were any indication).

"Why…did you help me?" The memories made him burst out in tearful sobs, his question near impossible to make out.

Gentle hands wiped away his tears and suddenly, Sabo found himself looking up at a girl with long raven locks and large brown eyes. Her eyes were so wide and so impossibly sad, Sabo's breaths hitched mid-sob.

However, there was something oddly open about her that made him relax. Before he knew it, he was crying against her, lamenting his life.

"I called so long for help but no one ever came…!" He cried. "I was so lonely and so scared…!"

Throughout it all, the girl only patted his head lightly and continued humming.

"Why are you not answering?!" He choked out through his wails.

She remained wordless.

The silence, however, spoke more volumes than words ever could.

With tears soaking in her dress and his head feeling painfully feverish and dazed, Sabo cried himself to sleep like he had done on his first few nights in the forest. Instead of pain, this time, it was of relief.

…

The boy reminds him oddly enough of himself.

Hiding his face still in the ground, Ace listened to Ann comfort the boy gently and closed his eyes.

With all his might, he prayed that this boy will not betray them in the end.

…

"We ought to form a group.

A group called 'Loneliness', that is."

\- Gol D. Ann

…

A/N: I rewrote this chapter, as most might be able to tell. Please comment on it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

…

"We're nakama!"

\- Monkey D. Luffy

…

"How is the idiot?" Ace asked the moment he walked in.

Blinking away the haziness in her eyes, Ann looked up at her brother and took in his ragged appearance. He must have gone hunting in the morning.

In the distance, the sound of the light drizzling was no longer audible. The first rays of sunlight could be seen warming up the forest as its beasts roused in preparation for a new day. The thunderstorm has stopped.

Slowly, Ann swept her hand over Sabo's forehead and frowned at the still mild heat she felt.

Only once in the two days had Sabo woken up. In a fit of sweat and emotional tears, the blond child had clung onto her with all his might, grateful for just the presence of another human being, as he sobbed endlessly until sleep consumed him. Ann could only wonder what the poor kid had went through as she nursed him as carefully as she could.

Not for the first time, Ann found herself hating this world once more. It was this world which forced children like Ace to think about suicide and for Sabo to run away from home. Sometimes, she would wonder if she can ever change it.

The derailing thoughts in her mind were brushed off when Ace rested a palm gently on her shoulder. With constantly lidded brown eyes, he stared down at her in concern, pursuing his lips in thought. Then, in the same gesture she did to him days ago, he pushed her lightly to the ground.

"Sleep." He murmured. "I'll take care of him for you."

The irony of his actions was not lost on her. She was the one with the experience of burning midnight oil for her studies.

Be that as it is, the offer was tempting. For two nights, she had not slept a wink. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be hard for her new body. There were a lot of arguments she could have made: Ace's narcolepsy, the lack of food, Sabo…But without protest, she gave in to sleep and closed her eyes.

The last thing she remembered was worrying for Ace.

…

Watching his sister just lie there so vulnerably, Ace found his eyes slowly travelling towards the unknown boy they have found.

His face was still red, his mouth partially opened in his sleep. Unconsciously or consciously, perhaps, the boy had been curled into Ann's warmth all the while, shifting towards her even while his eyes were closed. A nagging sense of protectiveness rose up in Ace before it was squashed by his promise to Ann.

With a sigh, Ace dropped the towel into the water and replaced the one on the boy's head.

"Stupid idiot. Going into the forest willingly all alone." Ace muttered in annoyance. He rested his cheek in his hand. "At least Ann and I aren't that dumb, you doofus."

Said doofus panted and turned on his back.

Ace wondered what caused the boy to run from home anyways. Based on the backpack he had, it was hard to believe he had not done so willingly – even if his words did say otherwise. Parental problems, perhaps? Or was it the mere petty childishness of a little brat? Whichever the case, Ace doubts the boy has it any worse than them.

If he was to close his eyes or stare straight into Ann's eyes and be entirely honest with himself, Ace knew he was being jealous.

The boy was a normal child – with probably normal parents and a normal background – the very opposite of Ann and himself. Yet, the boy had ran away from all that, abandoned all the things which Ace can only ever wish for and still never get.

Ace huffs, prodding the boy's cheek with a tiny branch he picked up.

"Weakling. You have a home and you left it without hesitation. If only you can understand the loneliness that the homeless have to go through…The lack of food, water, and warmth…You would have never done it. Stupid, blessed fool." He spat, looking to the roof with a scowl.

Why was he speaking to a sleeping boy anyways? The exhaustion of surviving in the wild must finally be getting to him. Nevertheless, the words just cannot seem to stop spilling from his lips.

"In the end, I suppose that blindness of yours is what separates us. You normal children…and us, the children of Roger." He whispers the last part with hatred. "Even if you wake up…you'll never be able to understand us truly. In the end, you'll just be like the rest of them – always saying that we should die…and that we should never have existed – In the end, you'll just become another enemy, just like the world."

His brown eyes narrowed, hurt at his own words, and he turned to look out of the cave, watching as another animal come passing by, nearing the cave. He shot one last glare at the boy's now drooling face as he grabbed his weapon.

"If you hurt Ann, I won't ever forgive you."

And he was off, lunging at the poor beast that had dared to pass by their hideout.

…

Another day passed.

This time, the boy opened his eyes for just a second to stare at them before closing again. In silence, he drifted off, probably aware of his two observers but too sick to care about them.

Ace scowled deeply as he looked away, whereas Ann only quietly patted the boy's head.

As the trio sat still in their cave, the predators outside remained still, lying in wait for their prey.

…

"His fever's not dropping." Ace stated, leaning against a wall.

Ann found her heart aching at how many scraps and scratches he had. As expected, many animals must have come to attack this cave for food after the long storm. Ace only scratched his nose gruffly, gazing down at her with a thoughtful eye.

"And the animals are increasing in numbers." He added. "What should we do?"

Ann furrowed her brows and changed the towel on the boy's head for the nth time.

Their food rations were running low. They were becoming weak, and the predators were only increasing in number. Not to mention…it seems like her first aid skills just wasn't enough, no matter how much she wanted to believe it was.

In the end, it still boils down to the two options in the beginning:

Down or up?

Ann stole a glance at Ace and was not shocked to find his brown eyes beginning to waver despite the steadiness in his voice.

It only figures. In the end, Ace was still only just five years old, hardly mature enough to handle the weight of three lives. She knew that he still kept the notion of abandoning Sabo as an option in his mind, and if it boils down to it, she had no doubt Ace would do it – and regret it later on in his life. She could feel his emotional turmoil now just by looking at him.

If things go on, she feared that the future would change for the worse.

A flash of Ace's death at the war made her breath hitch.

Ann looked down at her clenched fists and frowned.

She was the oldest one here mentally. For heavens' sake, no matter how much younger she may be physically, she was still older in her mind. She has to be stronger, if only for their sakes.

Ann breathed deeply and exhaled, washing her emotions away. Professionalism and emotionless, reliable numbers was the way to go.

Sketching a vague map of the mountain on the sandy ground, Ann dotted their current location and tugged Ace's sleeve to attract his attention. With her finger, she trailed a route down to the base of the mountain – where she knew a village should be located near the ocean.

"Down? Are you sure about that?" Ace stared at her warily but hopefully.

Ann nodded firmly.

It was the one sure way to get doctors, not to mention there must be some security of some sorts there to help them.

Ace stared at her for no short amount of time. Without hesitation, Ann met his gaze and two pairs of brown orbs clashed, debating silently as always. It took a while before the corners of Ace's lips rose into a lopsided smirk, not unlike his older self.

"…Then, we'll need to make preparations for it, don't we?"

Ann nodded once more.

"Then, I'll go get some water-" _GUUUUU~_

The duo froze, their eyes travelling down to Ace's tummy.

An awkward silence descended upon them.

"It- It wasn't me." Ace looked away, flushing lightly.

Ann allowed a small smile to cross her face.

"Don't smile! Really! It wasn't me!" Ace shouted, his entire face beet red.

She shrugged and nodded.

Behind them, as the flames of the fire flickered gently, Sabo gave a soft snore and turned on his side.

…

Never would Ann have expected the trip down to be more difficult than when they went up.

Pursuing her lips for the nth time, Ann dropped a kick down on one of the giant snakes. The serpant hissed as it threw its head to the skies. Warily, Ann dug a hand into her pocket and plucked out one of the stones she had collected – and tossed it straight into the snake's eye. She may not be a sniper like Usopp, but she did not practice archery for nothing in her past life.

Behind her, she could still see Ace with Sabo on his back, hiding behind a tree.

Lifting a hand in their specially made sign language, she waved the boys forward.

It was then that another snake came launching out from the ground.

Taken aback by its sudden presence, Ann had just jumped back in time to not get wrapped by a long tongue. With a frown, Ann stabbed her branch through the snake's tongue and into a tree, pinning it there. With another wave, she brushed off Ace's hesitance and pulled them along once more.

"Geez-! If only this boy ain't so heavy!" Ace cursed as he hopped after her.

Ann only gave him a look and continued at a faster pace.

"I got it-! I won't talk anymore, so slow down, Ann!" Ace yelled.

One of the things which made things all the more tedious was the fact that the predators they defeated previously seem to yearn for revenge.

The same species of that wolf they defeated on their first day came down on them in packs.

With a loud grunt that was borderline a yell, Ace had barely managed to duck one of them when they came sailing at them. Behind him, Ann only tugged lightly at a vine to ensure its stability before tying it lightly around herself. With her body parallel to the ground, she began her long run up a tree.

"Hurry it up! The idiot's not going to be able to stand it anymore!" Ace shouted from below.

Sabo's upperbody flailed wildly around as Ace dodged and ducked. Ann thought she even saw swirls in his eyes from the distance.

She let down a vine, watching as Ace grab onto it and pulled the two of them up together.

Ace narrowly missed his ass getting bitten off.

"Damn it…" Ace cursed, throwing Sabo onto the branch.

Ann panted lightly. That had really been a close call there.

The nights were spent on the tree as usual, away from the danger below.

This time, there was just the presence of an additional sick boy which did not change much of their routine.

The adrenaline from the long tedious day continued to stay in her veins, even as she pulled her brother up.

Watching Ace toss Sabo roughly onto the thick branch, Ann found that she could hardly care about the blond boy in her exhaustion. Panting lightly, she only tossed the boy's waterbottle at Ace, saving up the rest of her energy by lying limping against the bark.

"…Tired?" Ace scowled, tucking the bottle into Sabo's bag. "Try carrying this heavy bastard around and you'd understand my pain."

Ann only lifted a fist slowly and patted it lightly against Ace's shoulder. He did not even flinch. Her hand dropped right back down.

"Heh. More importantly…" Ace flopped onto his back and laughed, choking on the way. "…We managed to survive today!"

She smiled as well, looking up to the skies wearily.

They did not manage to travel the distance she had hoped they would, but they did manage to avoid or destroy all dangers they met. And it was all by herself and a little help from Ace. Albeit, her body does hurt all over, but…She wondered if this was a sign that she was growing stronger, if only by a little.

"Ann, Ann…" Ace called her name repeatedly. "Sing that song from that day!"

It was a rare show of childishness that Ann would usually not deny, but exhaustion takes priority today.

She gave a throaty cough and dropped her head, shaking it lightly.

"Cannot? Whatever…" Ace smirked and lifted a fist weakly. "Good job out there today!"

Ann took a moment to process the gesture and slowly, she gave him a fist bump.

"Well, let's sleep!"

Within a second, Ace's narcolepsy took over and he was already asleep with that same bubble escaping from his nose.

Ann smiled and shook her head, arranging Sabo in a more comfortable position before falling asleep herself.

…

Days passed.

Ann lost count of them.

When they finally arrived at a village, Ann could hardly describe her relief just before all three of them collapsed as one. The exhaustion made rest irresistible. Just seconds after Ace had blown that snot bubble of his, Ann heard the alarmed cries of the villagers and felt large hands pick her up gently.

"_What happened, girl?!"_

"_Kyaa! Those children…"_

"_How did they get so injured?!"_

"_Someone! Get the medic to come here please!"_

"_Oi! This one has a serious fever!"_

Her vision faded.

She wondered if she has narcolepsy like Ace. Afterall, she has been falling asleep or unconscious quickly a lot lately. Or perhaps, every bit of their wild adventure was just one big dream this time round and she was just oblivious to it…Whatever…

She…didn't care…

Her eyes closed blissfully. She sighed.

…

When Ann woke up, she found Garp before her.

The pain in her body made it hard to move, but even then, she could feel the warmth causing her to sweat. Beside her, Ace was already awake, buried under the same thick sheet of comforter as she was. Each of Garp's large hands was wrapped around each of theirs, and it seems like Garp and Ace had been talking before she woke up.

"…Ann?" Ace called softly.

She blinked and nodded, as obviously as she could. There were twin sighs of relief before Garp and Ace were glaring at one another like usual.

"What are you doing copying me?!" Garp shouted.

"That's my words!" Ace followed.

As the usual bickering broke out, Ann only laid back and watched silently with a tiny smile on her face.

"What is it?!" When they turned to look at her at the same time, she only shook her head and hid her face under the sheets.

Like it or not, Garp and Ace seem more like twins that she does with Ace.

Ann waited it out for a while before leaning into Ace, tugging his sleeve weakly between her fingers.

"O-Oh?" Lidded eyes met hers, seeing the concern in her eyes at once. With a firm nod of understanding, Ace turned to look at Garp with the most solemn expression he had since returning from the forest, the question ready on his lips. "How is the boy we found?"

Garp blinked and grinned teasingly.

"Bwahaha! Little Ace and Ann think they are finally old enough to care about others?" Ace twitched at the taunt whereas Ann only gave him a blank stare. Garp leaned in, smiling gruffly. "The boy had quite a serious little fever, but he's already alright now! In fact, he's been brought back to his home already to be nursed back to health! You two did well in protecting him!"

Surprise flickered through Ace's face and Ann's eyes when two large hands engulfed their heads in light, fond pats for the first time ever.

Exchanging wide-eyed stares, Ace tried his best to give a scowl despite the pink on his cheeks while Ann allowed a faint smile to cross her lips.

Despite all his tough exterior, in the end, Garp was still a protector. He worries about them just as much as any other guardian does and he feels the same pride all parents feel when their children do a laudable deed.

Garp, however, being as thickheaded as he is, killed the atmosphere with his next words.

"You'll make strong marines in the future!"

Ace's vein twitched whereas Ann only slumped into the bed.

"As if! I will be a pirate, you crappy old man!"

" 'Crappy'?!"

Can't she ever hope for one peaceful discussion between them?

A flash of sick little Sabo appeared before her eyes and she paused, sinking back into her thoughts once more.

Hopefully, this would not be the last they see of him.

…

Following that event, they returned back to their peaceful lifestyles.

"KORA! ACE!"

…Or as peaceful as the life of any D can be.

Ann sighed lightly as a strong arm wrapped itself around her, dragging her once more away from her chores. Well, at least she has managed to finish making breakfast this time round, right? Ace's smug smirk was all she managed to see of him before he turned back to the path, yelling over his shoulder.

"I'm kidnapping Ann today too, Dadan!"

"HIIII~! YOU DAMN BRAT!"

For a long distance, the twins merely ran. Passed the river, passed the trees, passed small mountain huts…Ann sighed at the gentle breeze blowing against her face and closed her eyes – just as one shrill cry yelled out.

"_HELP!"_

The silence which has wrapped itself around them in a protective bubble shattered.

The voice was familiar, high yet gruff in a manner that reminded her of that young boy they had saved weeks before. The only difference from that rainy storm was that the voice was no longer muffled by rain.

With wide eyes, Ann and Ace turned to each other.

Ace scowled and folded his arms.

"No." He spat. "No more, I promised you that."

Despite his words, his brown eyes held just a hint of worry in them.

How obstinate.

Ann sighed and went on ahead of him, jumping onto numerous rocks and swinging back and forth on a vine to get to the owner of that voice. She was unsurprised to hear Ace following her reluctantly, a glare on the ready when she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Go on." He encouraged with an unhappy frown.

Ann only nodded indulgently and continued running.

As they neared the area, they heard the sound of a might roar – the very same which has been chasing after them in the past weeks seeking for revenge – and the yelp of the very same boy they had saved then.

"I'M SO SO SORRY FOR PEEING MY PANTS LAST WEEK! I HONESTLY DIDN'T MEAN TO!"

Peeing his pants? Really?

Ace snorted in amusement while Ann smiled faintly, shaking her head lightly.

"AND I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT EATING MY VEGGIES! OR NOT WIPING MY ASS IN THE TOILET! OR EATING A GRAIN OF RICE OFF THE GROUND! OR SHITTING MY PANTS – oh, I already said that. AAHHHHH! I'M SORRY FOR STEPPING ON YOUR TAIL!"

Ace choked, facepalming himself in laughter.

Ann only shot him a look filled with mirth and Ace scowled at the reminder; He had done that very same thing weeks before.

In the distance, a yellow and blue figure rapidly approached them, followed by a dark purple wolf.

"Split." Ace ordered. The twins separated, hiding behind two trees side by side each other.

"SOMEBODY, HELP!"

Another shrill cry.

Ace winced. Without waiting, he tugged on one of the vines from his tree, tossing the other end to Ann. It took one glance for Ann to understand. It was their usual plan.

With a nod, she prepared her branch for the moment the wolf would pass by.

Ace stood and broke cover for but a second, shouting aloud to the boy.

"Oi, stupid boy there! You see me?" He yelled.

The blond boy paused momentarily in his run and smiled upon seeing Ace. A sharp bite somewhere near his ass then reminded him of the threat. Sabo jumped, yelping as he continued the chase in circles.

"Come running towards me and continue running pass even after you reach this tree, okay?!" He exclaimed.

"W-What?!" Sabo jumped and narrowly avoided losing a hand. "But it would be dangerous for you!"

From where she crouched, Ann wondered if Sabo remembers them. Why else would he care about their safety in such a pinch? It was either he remembers, or Sabo was always more self-sacrificial than she thought he was.

"Just come already, you big idiot! We'll be fine!" Ace dodged behind his tree once more.

"O-Okay!" There was a pause. "I'm coming then!"

Ann exchanged a glance with Ace and pursued her lips, narrowing her eyes for that split moment.

Half a second later, a pair of feet ran passed, a long yell flying over her head. And then, the familiar limbs of those damned wolves passed.

"Now!" They tugged at the vine simultaneously.

When the wolf stumbled over their trap, Ace flung his tiny body onto the predator's back. He was the heavier of them, so it only made sense. With a large rock he had picked up somewhere along the way, he stoned the wolf repeatedly.

Ann breathed and aimed her branch at the wolf's throat, her D strength allowing her to penetrate its side easily.

Blood splurted out.

With a whimper, the animal fell to the ground, heaving large gulps of air. When its jaws opened in ready for a long howl, Ann charged forward, closing its jaws forcefully with bare hands. Ace caught her desperate look and understood.

The wolf was trying to call its pack here.

"Die already!" He stoned the wolf in its head for a final time.

The animal fell still, life draining away from its eyes.

With twin sighs, they fell back onto the ground.

Exchanging stares, Ann ignored the nagging guilt at the back of her mind and bumped her fist with Ace's. Even if it was a life, it did not change the fact that killing is the key to survival in the wilds.

"Good job." Ace smirked ferally. "I guess we have our dinner tonight."

Ann gave a tiny smile.

"Man, but you two sure did a number on this wolf." They blinked at their forgotten third party. Sabo grinned weakly as he poked the wolf with a finger. "I mean, there's so much blood all over…"

Ann looked over and cringed at the blank stare Ace was directing at the boy. She had seen that stare sometimes directed at Garp or Dadan. This was not going to end well…

"YOU BIG IDIOT!" The yell was so loud it frightened the birds away. "What the fuck are you doing in this forest?! Again?!"

Sabo fell back on his bum, eyes wide with terror as he gazed at Ace.

"Is the first time not enough for you?! Just because we saved you once, don't think we're going to rescue for a second or third time each time you return! Are you looking for death?!"

"B-But…You already saved me a second time." Sabo stuttered out.

Ace snapped, his eyes dark as killing intent dwarfed the area. Grabbing Sabo by his cravat, he growled illegibly and shook him multiple times with his demon strength. Sabo sweatdropped and whimpered. Onyx eyes travelled subtly to her, a silent plea for help.

Ann stared contemplatively at him for but a second before looking away.

It was his fault for returning, no matter how much she did wish for it as well. Besides, Ace's words were true. What if they had not passed by when he was attacked?

"C-Come on…It's not like I returned without a reason. I wanted to see how my saviours look, and…and…" His beady eyes travelled to the side, narrowing as if remembering something dark.

He did not continue. Ace only growled, flames erupting around him as he growled.

"WHAT?!"

Sabo squeaked.

Ann sighed, tugging lightly on Ace's sleeve.

If they do not leave soon, the other wolves might come.

Nodding in understanding, Ace dropped Sabo and followed after her, dragging the carcass of the wolf along with them.

"W-Wait! Can I come along with you?" Sabo shouted after them.

Ace gave him a silent glare over his shoulder.

"What do you think?" He asked lowly.

"Y-Yes?" Sabo suggested hopefully.

Ann only shook her head and continued, ignoring the bickering duo behind her.

…

Ann decides that she would never understand Sabo.

Despite all the danger, he had came running back into the heart of all the danger. No matter how bad a family is, it cannot possibly be terrible enough to warrant such an action, can it? And then, despite all the trouble Ace has given him by shouting at him continuously, he continued to follow them for the entire day. In that sense, he reminded Ann of Luffy…

However, loneliness can't be his only drive, can it?

Watching for the nth time as Sabo tried to climb up one vine to follow them up the tree, she shook her head.

It was good that he was following them since Ace always end up helping him in a show of his increasing patience and sympathy, but what gains can he get?

Behind her, Ace was already snoring loudly.

As the howl of yet another wolf echoed for the third time, Sabo jumped and looked around, wide-eyed. He tried to climb up the vine more desperately this time, with no increased amount of success from his previous attempts.

Ann sweatdropped.

She was in no mood to withstand another bicker between these two, but she was not heartless either. Ace was sleeping, so maybe she should…

She tugged lightly on one vine which she could reach. Sabo noticed the shifting vine and looked up at her, his eyes wide with puzzlement. Silently, Ann only stared at him until he took hold of the vine and begun to pull him up.

"Thank you- so much-!" He heaved with exertion as he climbed onto their branch.

She passed him some of the veggies they had left. If there was one thing Ace is glad about getting rid of, it was the greens.

With saliva pouring out of his lips, Sabo took hold of the edible leaves and finished them at once, almost choking once or twice in the midst of his meal.

Ann only sat back and leaned against Ace for warmth.

"Thank you, really." Sabo said to her in a more gentlemanly tone when he was done.

With a burp that she guessed must be unsightly for a noble child, Sabo sat back, rubbing his tummy in satisfaction.

"That was the best meal I have ever eaten. I guess things always taste more delicious when you're hungry, huh." He laughed to himself. "Come to think of it, I haven't asked yet. What are your names?"

Ann raised a brow at him, unamused.

A moment of silence later, Sabo sweatdropped and laughed sheepishly.

"I failed to make you speak, didn't I?" Under her stare, he shrunk a bit more. "Gomen. Do you want me to be quiet?"

She shook her head in mild amusement. It was almost funny how a little bit of intimidation from Ace could get Sabo to fear her as well. She wondered how it could be like in the future, when Ace is a little more muscular, stronger, and more monster-like than now.

"Then, I'll talk, okay?" Sabo beamed. "Once upon a time, in a far far away land, there was a prince…"

Bedtime stories? Well, whatever.

Ann felt a smile spread across her lips. She leaned into Ace, listening in fascination as Sabo spun tales of princesses and princes which were more suited for a girl rather than a boy. Was Sabo a romanticist?

She buried a laugh as Sabo looked over at her questioningly.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look pretty smiling?" Sabo smiled at the end of his tale.

Ann blinked, recalling Ace's words, and she nodded with a soft smile.

"When you're not smiling though, you look non…non…nonchalant." Ah, he got the word correct. "Like a robot of some sorts. Even your frowns look blank!" He laughed.

That explains why her intimidation techniques never work on Ace.

"Between you and him though, I like you equally. You're kind and warm and fuzzy while he's like stern but loving mother." His eyes were dully shining in the moonlight, as if thinking of his own parents. He smiled sadly. "I like you two more than anyone else in the world."

Ann frowned.

For a child to like the strangers he meet more than his own parents…If she ever meets his parents, they will need to be wary.

She felt her inner mother hen take over as she shifted closer into Ace, motioning for Sabo to take her other side.

"E-Eh? Really?" Sabo looks happy for just a moment before his reservations as a noble took over. He looked down shyly. "A lady should never sleep with a man who is not her family before marriage, though."

Ann dropped her offered hand.

If he doesn't want it, then she supposes she cannot change his mind.

Sometime in the cold of the night, she woke up to find another boy by her other side, snuggling into her just like she did with Ace.

With a smile, she closed her eyes and soaked herself in the simple pleasures of the moment.

…

Morning came.

She was woken up by the one sided bickering between Ace and Sabo once again.

With a sigh, she resigned herself to another few more days of this routine.

…

For several days, Ace and Ann had stayed in the forest in fear of having the boy follow them back to the mountain hut – and meet up with a bad end by the hands of their own band of bandits.

However, as it is, even in the absence of Garp, it was essential for them to return sometime soon.

"We're leaving tomorrow, dumbass." Ace stated.

"Eh?" Sabo's eyes were wide.

"We're leaving." Ace repeated.

"No…way."

"It's the truth. Get over it and stay out of trouble from now on." Ace scowled.

Ann stared at her brother's back knowingly.

Despite all his gruff words and taunting hurtful insults, Sabo had grown on him. Ace had become used to caring for their stalker, so much that he almost started babying Ann in that same way.

That morning, Ace had even asked her to plan a route that consists of the more crucial areas. Rivers, fruit trees, safe regions with weaker animals…He had wanted to remind Sabo of them so he would not die in their absence.

"Are you leaving…forever?" The wide eyes which turned to her were wavering.

She, too, has grown used to his presence.

Clenching her teeth, she watched as Ace nodded to his question.

It was a lie just to see if Sabo would return to his home in their absence, but it was a lie with the best intentions in mind. If Sabo do not return, then it would help Ace the most. It would mean that there is someone who is willing to brave through the dangers they carry with them, for them.

With teary eyes, Sabo continued staring for a long while, not speaking for the first night since they have met up here.

Ann only hugged him into his side, hoping to provide him with a little bit of the courage he needed to brave through the lie they created.

…

"Do you think he will still be there when we return?" Ace questioned, turning his back to her as she entered the tub.

His ears were red once more when he turned back to her.

Any other times, Ann would have smiled in amusement.

Initially, she had been embarrassed to share a bath with a male, but in the end, Ace was still just a child and her brother, so there was no need to be concerned about it. It helps save the water Dadan is so obsessive over anyways.

However, she could hardly bring her lips up this time round.

She slinked her nose under the water, humming slightly.

"That idiot should just leave and never come back, like the weakling he is." Ace murmured once more.

Ann peered up at him sadly.

If only Ace can be more honest with himself and care less about Roger…

Dinner was tasteless as they bit through the meat.

Glancing at her, Ace took a larger bite and engulfed everything, trying to seem hungry.

"This meat is…delicious!" He growled.

Ann sighed when another few more men ran towards her, throwing themselves at her feet.

"Please never leave us again, Cook Ann!" They cried.

She sweatdropped.

"Stop it, you idiots!" Dadan kicked them all on the heads.

If Sabo eats her cooking, what would he say?

"This is delicious?" Or would he just be silent and wolf through it. He is a noble afterall, so her cooking may not be satisfactory to him, however much he forces it.

…

Three days later, they raced back to the tree they had left Sabo at.

There was nobody there.

"H-Hah! I knew this would happen." Ace bit his lower lip to hide the pain on his face. "I knew he would abandon us…just like all the others did."

Ann wrapped a comforting arm around his waist, closing her eyes.

As much as she wanted to deny it, even she felt hurt at his departure.

She did not know how long they merely stood there, looking around at everything that moved in hopes of seeing him. She just knew that it must be sometime after noon that Ace shifted.

"Let's gather treasure for my pirate ship." He stated emptily.

Without protest, she followed him in silence.

In Grey Terminal, they found themselves walking around in their old routine, waiting for some poor sop to cross by them with a bag full of their soon-to-be treasures. However, it did not feel quite right not going around the forest with an annoying danger-prone boy following after them.

As they rounded pass another corner, one question stopped Ace right in his tracks.

"What if Gold Roger had a child?"

The voice which spoke that question was familiar, high but gruff and polite in tone.

Ann froze while Ace dragged her back behind the wall, a trembling hand covering her mouth.

Without looking, she knew her brother's brown eyes were wide with horror, fear and trepidation all mixed into one.

How did Sabo found out? And when?

"Heh. I'd say that the child should die." A man answered. "If it's a boy, we should use him as a factory machine to produce more war machines for the marines. If it's a girl, then…heh."

The chuckle sent shivers up her spine.

The mere thought of it made her feel sick.

"…Wrong answer." Sabo's voice called out.

And then, there was the sound of something hitting the man. Shouts rang out in alarm as more thuds were heard.

Without hesitation, Ace raced out of their hiding spot, Ann behind him. Grabbing the pipes which they had grabbed upon their entry into Grey Terminal, they started knocking down the men. Ann gritted her teeth as she knocked down one of them who had tried to hit Sabo. The blood on her pipe was unforgettable.

"Dumbass!" Ace cursed lightly under his breath as he pulled Sabo after him.

Ann swiftly followed after them, backing them up by hitting those who had came close to attacking her brother.

"L-Let me go! Those bastards…How dare they say that about yo-?!" Sabo's mouth was covered by Ace before he got the complete the word.

"Do you wanna die?! Don't go letting them know about us!" Ace hissed.

They ran, just as they always do.

Trees meant security since the men always feared Mt Corvo. The moment they were hidden by trees, the trio released identical sighs of relief.

"When did you find out about us? Why did you go and do that? Why hadn't you left?" Ace slammed Sabo into the tree trunk, his eyes blazing with fiery. "Answer me!"

"W-Wait-!" Sabo winced.

"Why did you fight for us, you IDIOT?!" Ace roared.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY NAKAMA!" Sabo shouted suddenly. He was panting as he continued in a lower voice, glaring slightly at Ace. "Because you're special to me, that's why."

Both boys were panting from the run and shouting. Shaken by Sabo's words, Ace stepped back with wide eyes, his shaky hands allowing Sabo to slide to the ground slowly.

Hesitantly, Ann stepped forward and grabbed Ace's hand, staring down at Sabo in understanding.

"When I was in that forest all alone, I cried all day and night out of loneliness. I wanted someone to be there with me, no matter who it was. But nobody came." Ann recalled when he woke up, still sick and lonely. "And then, in the cold and darkness, you two came. You helped me, gave me warmth which I have never felt, and you never abandoned me despite all the hardship you have to face. I remember it…all of it." He looked up at Ace. "And that day when you told me about your past, I was awake, too."

"…It was then-!" Ace gritted his teeth.

"It's true. Back then, I didn't understand your pain and I don't think I can ever do so. But even so, I knew loneliness. I now know the feeling of being abandoned by the world. And most of all, I know that you two are special enough to me not to care about your parents." Sabo gazed at them with sincere eyes. "I feel sorry for throwing away all those things I have been blessed with…But when weighed against you guys, I still think you're more precious to me. So…"

He trailed off, as if thinking about what to say.

"…Please let me stay with you." He ended decisively.

Silence seems to echo forever.

In the distance, the sounds of a river were audible. A bird took flight with a chirp, leaving a feather behind.

Ace lifted a hand up to wipe his eyes, sweeping aside the tears which have collected there and continued to hide his eyes for a long time.

"You stupid dumbass…" He gritted out.

There were no more words.

Ann smiled as she walked forward, bending before Sabo to pat his head lightly.

Slowly, Sabo grinned in understanding.

He laughed as he leapt up at Ace, throwing him down to the ground in a hug.

"Thank you!"

"Wai-! I haven't say a single thing yet-!"

Ann only smiled.

…

"Two brothers and One sister. It's like a family."

\- Gol D. Ann

…

A/N: That's the end of this chapter! I hope all of you enjoyed this and please don't forget to review!

…

"Eh? His birthday? No…I don't really know." Ace muttered.

Ann continued to stare at him, frowning slightly.

"Tch. Haven't we agreed not to interfere with his past already? Why are you stubborn about this?" Ace scratched his head in annoyance.

Ann pinched her lips together, in an almost thoughtful-looking stare.

"…Yeah. Come to think of it, we are actually older than him, aren't we?"

The stare changed again.

"Okay, okay…I take care of it, so you can stop pestering me about it already." Ace sighed.

From where he was lying on the tree branch, Sabo could only watch the two of them communicate with a dumbfounded look. How Ace could ever read Ann's blank expression was something that was beyond him. How does he guess his sister's thoughts just by looking at that stiff face?

The next day, Sabo found himself led around the forest by a silent Ann.

Sweatdropping, he only started on one of his random rants once again, feeling slightly happy whenever Ann nods indulgently at him. His mother has always told him to shut his mouth if the topic was not relevant, but Ann never does that.

Although…when he ran out of topics, it does feel slightly uncomfortable, but Ann always makes it better by humming one of her cheerful songs.

That night, when Ace came back, he had something with him.

"It's been one year since we met, so here."

Sabo blinked at the object thrusted into his face. It was a goggles with a cyan and black colour combination.

"We destroyed those goggles of yours back then when we were trying to rescue you, so we thought we might give you another one." Ace's eyes shifted from place to place.

Staring at the goggles, Sabo felt himself tearing up.

Even though this goggles was definitely less expensive than all those material goods his family always give him on his birthday, just the thought behind it warmed his heart. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the best present ever.

"Thanks, guys!"

Ace yelped as he and his sister were glomped by surprisingly strong arms.

"We need to stop training him to be strong." Ace whispered inaudibly to Ann.

Ann only nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

…

"Without pain, you are likely going the wrong way."

\- Terry Goodkind

…

_The Story of Portgas D. Rouge_

The Story of Gol D. Ann

…

_With all her being, she has always despised the colour red._

_It was the colour that her mother had coughed out before she eventually died. It was the colour that pushed her to commit her life to red. It was the colour she always sees before each surgery is declared a failure._

_It was the colour she saw in her last moments, spreading out like a blossoming red rose._

_She hated red._

_The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes again was something vaguely red._

_With silky textures wrapped around her in a protective embrace, she understood at once. And even though she wanted to throw a fit until red comes blossoming out of her, she restrained herself – if only because of that doctor's reasoning in her; It would endanger her mother._

_Nevertheless, it did not stop her hatred of red._

_When she was reborn, the first colour she saw was again, red._

_The red was like a string of red beads, moving around her almost as if they were suspended by some invisible objects. Growing irritated at the colour, her vision turned red as her eyes grew heated. The red coalesced. _

_Thinking that it is her imagination, she continued glaring at it. Then, for the first time since she left her mother's womb, the nurse finally turned away from a conversation with her mother towards her._

_She jumped, almost dropping her._

"_What is this-?!" Her nurse yelled. Something dropped with a clatter._

_She blinked, and in that instance, the red fell from mid-air, painting the table with its colour._

_Her red eyes widened._

_Before she knew it, that red was already dictating her life here as well._

…

They decided to build a house for Sabo.

As she thought, the forest is no place for a six year old to be living in. Summer, autumn, spring and especially winter. There are animals prowling constantly. It is simply too tough a place to live without a shelter over his head.

Initially, when they sprung it up on said boy, Sabo had reacted every bit as modestly as any noble would.

"A-A-A house?!" He spat out his drink.

"Yeah. Ann and I thought you would need one since you can't come to Dadan's with us." Ace hopped over the puddle of water to sit on a rock. "But don't expect us to do everything. You're required to help."

"E-Eh? A house, for me?" Sabo stuttered. She could see swirls of shock and confusion in his eyes.

"You're still stuck on that?" Ace muttered irritably.

"But I do not want to trouble both of you!" Sabo yelled in protest. "And besides, I'm perfectly fine living the way we are right now!" Those words strongly contrasted with his muddied jacket and too messy hair.

The twins stared at him in slight disgust.

"You're fine with it?" Ace echoed her thoughts.

Sabo continued with his line of arguments.

"I've gotten a lot stronger since the beginning – And rather than spending time on building, I'd rather we play together! So there's no need to waste our time on such a thing-"

Ace aimed a nice kick at him. Stunned, Sabo fell to the ground without struggle.

"You…Shut up now." Ace growled.

Sabo flinched.

…As expected, he still had not gotten over his fear from their second meeting.

Ann unfolded her arms as she watched the scene unfold.

She cannot exactly say that she disagrees with Ace's actions.

Sabo has always been contradicting in that manner; He always tries to help out whenever he could, yet he never tries to accept anything they give him, always claiming that he's enough trouble.

Perhaps it is his upbringing at work here. It appears that 'friendships' in the terms of nobility are simply a synonym for the give-and-take relationship.

She understands. Really, she does. But to have their relationship be thought of in such a manner…Somehow, it stings just a bit.

For Ace, it must be the same.

Ace looked up, the shadow on his face leaving to reveal an infuriated expression.

"We said we will build it for you, so we will build it!" Ace shouted forcefully. "You're so annoying! When will you stop being so stupid?!"

Ann blinked, surprised by the outbreak.

Well, at least, it seems like Ace is opening up to Sabo.

The blond child was stunned as Ace stood up, leaving him with a long line of muttered curses.

Ann frowned.

Sabo really does look confused.

She approached him as he lowered his head to the ground, looking contemplative of Ace's words. Squatting down beside him, she patted his shoulder lightly.

Sabo looked up.

"I don't really understand what I did wrong, but I'm so sorry-"

How annoying.

Her eye twitched.

Slapping a hand over his lips, she stared blankly at him to convey her frustration.

"…Eh?" He cocked his head. "Why?"

Ann took a moment to ponder about how to convey it.

There was a glint of light, and she swiftly pointed to the source of it.

"My goggles? The goggles you guys got for me? What about it?" Sabo blinked three times in succession.

…He doesn't understand, does he?

She sighed, standing back up to follow Ace.

Communication is forbidden, so she might as well give up on it. One of these days, Ace would definitely resolve this issue for both of them though. Then, perhaps, they would no longer have to deal with that annoying habit of Sabo's.

"Goggles…" Sabo touched the blue metal frame thoughtfully. "Goggles…"

His mind flashed back to the time he received them and suddenly, he understood.

"Goggles! It's goggles!" He shouted, charging after them out of nowhere.

Ann sweatdropped while Ace deadpanned.

"Did he finally hit his head one too many times?"

"I get it, Ann!" Sabo yelled, bouncing up to them. "Thank you! Thank you so much for wanting to help me! And sorry for not letting you help me!"

He practically looks like a golden retriever puppy with shining eyes and blond locks.

The twins exchanged a quick glance and nodded, returning their attention to the noble child.

"-You're annoying." Ace's choice of words had her facepalming. "Stop being so overexcited and help us with your house."

"Okay!" Sabo followed him, giving her a thumbs-up and a wink.

"Oi. Do that again at my sister and I'll kill you, Sabo."

"Eh?! It's just a friendly action! You're too possessive over her, you sis-con."

"I don't understand that word, but somehow, I'm getting the urge to murder someone."

Sabo cringed in terror.

"I'm sorry. I went too far with that."

"Good. Now, I know that word means something bad."

Ann hid a smile at their antics and headed in a separate direction. Now, what should she cook for dinner?

…

The moment Sabo finished his dinner and laid down, he fell asleep immediately.

"So fast!" Ace exclaimed.

Ann only sweatdropped and extracted one of their blankets from their bags. Unsurprisingly, Ace took it from her hands and covered Sabo with it.

"Tch. So troublesome…" He grunted, sitting back on the ground.

Ace is a good older brother despite everything. He pays heed to their needs, trying his best to be their shield from all dangers. Although it may not be obvious, it was at times like these when either of them was asleep that it became most prominent.

To think that this Ace is the same one that left Luffy to be injured by one of the forest animals…In that sense, Ann likes to think that her existence made a positive impact on Ace.

A loud snore broke her trend of thoughts.

"And he snores loud, too." Ace added, disgruntled.

Ann allowed a faint smile onto her lips as she leaned into Ace. As usual, he feels warm.

"How are you faring though, Ann?" Ace asked.

Noticing her stare, his eyes danced around briefly, thinking of a way to better phrase his words.

"With Sabo here and all…I can't really pay as much attention to you as before. It's kinda like suddenly having a younger brother, right?" He looked hesitant in his choice of words. "So…I just want to know if you're having troubles…"

…Somehow, she had the feeling that Magra put him up to this.

The chicken haired mountain bandit is always worrying too much. He must have mentioned something about this to Ace.

Blinking up at him, she lifted her hands to his face and pushed up either sides of his lips.

"Eh?" Ace mumbled around her action. "You're feeling happy?"

She nodded before shaking her head and pointed at him.

"You're feeling happy, but…'How about me'?" Ace suggested and she nodded.

Her hands fell from his face in favour of snuggling deeper into her blanket.

"I'm fine. Even though I say those things about Sabo…To be honest…It kinda makes me feel happy to be needed…" He whispered the last part into a palm, his cheeks reddening.

Ann pretended not to have heard it and leaned in closer with a questioning look.

"I-I mean-! I'm fine, that's all!" Ace stuttered, flustered at his own thoughts.

She smiled and stared at the fire.

How nice.

In her past life, she never had any siblings, so she never knew the joy of having them.

To think that it is this fun being taken care of, and taking care of others…It kind of makes her pity her past life without any siblings. Those dark times back at the brothel…It feels like such a short time in comparison to the blissfulness of these days.

"Ann…I'm stupid." The sudden statement made her stare at him blankly. "Don't give me that look! I'm not stupid! …Though I am…but then again…"

Six year old kids are complicated, aren't they?

"You remember our conversation about my dream? How I'm going to become a pirate and all…" He stated thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about it…And after thinking for so long, I feel that it's stupid afterall."

…What?

Ann blinked in confusion.

He looked over to her, brown eyes reflecting the redness of the flames – the red of the flames that would very soon be his in the future.

"Ann." He said seriously. "I want to be a pirate in the future, with or without you. And even though it means having to separate from you, I want these days to continue forever."

It's like hearing her thoughts from a recorder.

Ann nodded for him to continue.

"I can't have one without giving up another, so instead, I'll keep both with me for as long as I can." He said determinedly. "Rather than wasting my time thinking and being half-assed, I'll live my best with you before going out to seas. Like this, I won't let even a second slip by and I get to get the most of both! It's the best solution!"

He nodded firmly to himself, entrenched deep in his thoughts.

Ann stared.

…Sometimes, she forgets that these are six year olds instead of adults.

They think much more than she ever did at that age, and they think so simply that they found the solution quickly. Or are Sabo and Ace just geniuses?

Somehow, she does not doubt that.

"…Ah!" Ace flushed. He looked away with a scowl, face reddening more. "You totally didn't see me get excited about that, okay?"

She paused, surprised by interruption. In a contrast with his words and normal demeanour, Ace looked perfectly childlike with his embarrassment.

She chuckled into her hand.

It's a bit funny how Ace changed in the blink of an eye.

"…What? I'm serious."

She nodded indulgently.

"Oi. Respect your elders, Ann!"

…

_Her parents died and she was passed on to a distant relative._

_Under the care of that distant relative, she was locked in the basement for her entire life. She supposes she did not mind the treatment so much. There were books in the basement, and her meals were delicious. She did not mind being locked up for the safety of others._

_In that tiny basement, she learnt lots._

_She learnt that 90% of her new world was filled with water, with the exception of several renowned areas such as the red line and some islands. She learnt how to navigate, if only through normal seas like the four blues. She learnt about the tension between pirates and marines._

_She learnt about devil fruits, as well as how her powers were very likely to originate from a devil fruit._

_She learnt that she is strange, and a danger to everyone._

_And she learnt that this world is the one known as One Piece in her world – that manga her cousin was always so fond of reading._

_Nothing matters so much as that. Not marines, not pirates, not anything…_

_She is not a fan of One Piece. As a doctor, she rarely has time to spend on such triviality. Most of her time is spent on avoiding red, and when that is not the case, she broods about the frailness of life._

_However, there was just one character which she remembered from her vague memory, and that was a minor character barely showcased._

_She was a gentle person with a heart as strong as her flowing strawberry blond hair is beautiful._

_She shared the same name as herself in her past life – _

_\- Rouge._

…

Was it her imagination or something else?

Ann woke up gasping at how her dream ended, feeling unnaturally uneasy over it.

Why was her head conjuring such weird thoughts now? For the past few days, these weird dreams have been endless, continuously playing out the story of another reincarnated person – now identified as Rouge. But…That's just a dream, isn't it?

She touched her face and her brows furrowed at the traces of tears.

This had been happening too. Every time she had those dreams, the tears would trickle out without notice.

Why does she feel so emotional about it? And are those dreams reality?

She did not understand.

"_If it's a girl, it's Ann…If it is a boy, it's Ace…That's what he decided." Rouge smiled down at them._

Ann nodded to herself.

It must be a dream.

Afterall, how can such an emotionless woman be that same gentle Rouge?

Sabo stuck his head into the cave.

"Ann, you're awake! We're going to Grey Terminal to gather some materials now, so can you look after the place?" His grin quickly faded when he noticed her tears. "W-Woah! Why are you crying?!"

Ann cringed. He's too loud.

There was the sound of something dropping outside the cave before Ace raced in to assault her.

"What happened?! Who made you cry, Ann?!" He growled.

She sweatdropped and shook her head warily, faking a yawn.

"…I see." Ace kicked Sabo.

"Ouch! What was that for?" The noble winced.

"You misunderstood, you idiot."

"Hey! There's no need to call me an idiot because of that, right?!"

"Idiots are idiots."

She shook her head as another bickering broke out. Really, sometimes, she wished that they would just cool their heads down and learn to fight less.

The two boys suddenly jolted, shuddering in perfect harmony.

"For some reason, I felt cold all of a sudden." Ace muttered.

"Me too." Sabo echoed.

What do you know? Miracles do happen.

Amused at the scene, she rubbed her eyes, feeling oddly refreshed for a new day.

…

_Ah…How many times have she looked into the mirror and wondered about her fate? _

_Every time Rogue sees her reflection of strawberry blond hair and fiery brown eyes, she could only think about Rouge. Not herself, but the Rouge whose place was taken by her._

_In One Piece, Rouge was a gentle woman with compassionate and strong eyes. She was drawn to an adventurous man named Gold Roger despite their circumstances, and she withheld her pregnancy for eleven months to prevent her child from getting killed. In short, that Rouge was both a good and a strong person._

_However, she had neither good nor strong._

_She hates red with a passion, would kick a puppy if it logically benefits her, and she would back away if it was to prolong her own survival._

_Rouge was sure she could not carry out any of the things the other Rouge would do. In fact, if made to do so, she would rather die by her own hands._

_A future already decided for her by a book and a show…Why should she live and suffer for the sake of maintaining a stable world when she could just die, ignorant of the effects of her death?_

_People might call her selfish, but she did not care. _

_She just wanted to live and be normal, without seeing red._

_Ironically, her very own powers originate from red._

_Red was the source of her frustration and anger, which strengthens her unnatural ability to control the movement of blood. Though…_

"_You don't have to worry about getting hurt." Rouge told the frightened servant blankly. "I can't control any blood as long as it remains in your body, so stop shifting around already."_

"_B-But…" Her face remained as pale as could be._

_Rouge sighed._

_People overestimate her powers too much._

_At the age of ten, she could hardly control the blood's movements despite everything. She has always hated red, so she refrained from bleeding as much as possible, which minimise all occasions of training her powers._

_It does react to her strong desires – in particular, negative feelings – but other than that, she had no plans of using it anytime soon._

_However, even without plans, just having her powers changed everything._

_Months later, she found herself in a house full of flames, surrounded by the red which she so hated. Blood of the servants and her relatives painted the old mansion. Surrounding her, the villagers and that servant from before looked angered, tossing flames onto her shelter._

"_You monster!"_

"_How could anyone be able to control blood?!"_

"_Why do you exist?!"_

_More red flames they tossed, ruining the one sanctuary that was her entire world thus far._

"_You should just die!"_

"_You're a manifestation of a devil fruit, aren't you?!"_

"_Kill her before the demon hurts us!"_

_Humans are fragile, really, she thought numbly._

_In both her world and this one, humans are so easily influenced by the things around them. They seek to eradicate, to dominate, to love, to hate._

_She thought she escaped reality by surrounding herself in the four walls of that room, but even in One Piece, reality is never nice. Before she knew it, those four walls were burnt down to pieces, leaving a numbed doctor with an unnatural hatred of red to face the world._

_Rouge stared at their angered faces and squeezed her eyes shut._

_Why does it hurt? _

_She is a cruel person, someone who would kick a puppy if it benefits her. She is selfish and inhumane._

_Why can't she be as nonchalant as she always pretends to be?_

_Just like those times she walked out of a failed surgery without hesitation…Just like those times when she spoke the words to the patient's family, emotionless even in face of their emotional breakdowns…_

_Why does she care?_

_She has never met these people, being locked up in her basement throughout her short life. The faces of the villagers were unfamiliar, cold shadows of the ones she imagined. They were cruel, just like herself, pelting the house down with rocks and flames._

_She should not care. She should be indifferent, just as she always has been. Just as she always pretended to be._

_But still…Why does she long for these people's acceptance?_

…_In the end, she is still one of them, isn't she? _

_An irrational human being, weak in face of everything._

_For some reason, tears of sorrow slid down her cheeks._

_In that moment, shouts resounded._

_Her eyes snapped opened, stunned by the yells for mercy, and the sight she saw before her froze her world and punctured her layers of logic._

_Before her, the powers she never sought to control took control of itself._

_Her world became painted in the red she so hated as the gathered blood from her relatives and servants pooled together. They attacked the villagers, seeping the blood from them before using it to attack their comrades._

_It was a demon, Rouge thought in that heart stopping moment. _

_Her powers…It had a life of its own, and it was a demon._

"_S-Stop!" The rational Rouge lost her logical thinking for once. "What are you doing?! Stop! I order you to stop!"_

"_The demon is attacking us!"_

"_Someone, help!"_

"_Evacuate the children and women!"_

"_Stop it! Please! Stop attacking them! I'm not angry!" She exclaimed._

_The blood continued its ceaseless attacks._

_Some time in between the start and the end, the first tears started falling from the heavens. Her tears of helplessness mixed with the water, which continued its way down to mix with the blood._

"_Stop…please…" She hoarsely cried as she stumbled through the now desolate village. "I never asked for this…Please stop…"_

_There was a child before her, an innocent newborn held in the arms of its deceased mother._

_Her eyes widened as the red slid up to them, disobeying her wishes._

"_STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"_

_She yelled._

_The red demon stopped, for the first time since the carnage started, and it fell to the ground in a large pool of coalesced red._

_The infant shifted and it cried._

_Is this a punishment for not being able to save all her patients? Is this a retribution from those villagers? Simply because they know dying hurts her more than living?_

_She grasped the infant with shaky hands as tears of blood fell from her eyes._

_Opening its mouth, the infant cried more._

"_I'm so sorry…" She choked. "I'm so sorry…"_

…

Why was she remembering that dream at such a time? Why…

"I see that you're awake, girl."

…Why does she feel like her body isn't her own?

Her eyes feel unnaturally cool even while being closed. When they opened, she found herself tied against a pole, staring into the faces of five large bandits.

She strained herself to recall what had happened.

Ace and Sabo had gone off to Grey Terminal. She had seen them off, and just as she was returning back to Sabo's half finished house…Something had hit her in the back.

Geez. How could she have been so careless? If she hadn't let her guard down, if she had tried her hardest, she would have been able to defeat them.

She glared at the men, wondering about their whereabouts.

They were in an old shed which was barely furnished. In the distance, she could hear the crashing of waves and it sounded close, so they must be near the edge of the island.

Sabo and Ace probably wouldn't be able to find her at this distance. That means she can only rely on herself.

"What's with that look, girly?" She cringed as her chin was roughly grabbed.

The man shoved his face into hers, scowling as she glared harder.

Ann had seen aplenty of his type back at the brothel. They would abuse the prostitutes, hitting them to the brink of death. Even if the women weren't close to her, she could not help but sympathize with them after seeing their injuries. She dare say that this type of men was the one she despised most.

"Impudent brat." He slapped her.

Her head was thrown downwards.

Staring at her bounded hands, her world flickered blue and she found herself wondering about the coolness in her eyes again.

Why does it feel so cooling? And why does her body feel so unfamiliar?

…_her vision turned red as her eyes grew heated. The red begun to coalesce..._

Her eyes widened marginally.

No. No no no…

That is just a dream. It cannot be happening. It's not true afterall. That can't be happening.

_Before her, the powers she never sought to control took control of itself._

_Her world became painted in the red she so hated as the gathered blood from her relatives and servants pooled together. They attacked the villagers, seeping the blood from them before using it to attack their comrades._

_It was a demon, Rouge thought in that heart stopping moment. _

_Her powers…It had a life of its own, and it was a demon._

The memory sent chills down her spine.

Her hand suddenly moved without her command and a flicker of memory flashed before her eyes. She saw Rouge, heartbroken, fragile, strong Rouge, crying over a tiny infant in a field painted with her terrifying red.

N-No.

She narrowed her eyes at her hand, willing it to stop.

She won't let it repeat.

She won't let the tragedy happen to her, not after seeing Rouge's tragedy.

Something battled her on the inside – something which she suspected was the same demon which controlled Rouge's red – and she responded by squeezing her eyes shut, hoping against everything that the coolness in her eyes would vanish.

The men remained oblivious to her internal battles to save herself, as well as them.

"Boss, please stop that! You'll damage the goods!" Another man cried.

"Huh? She's my good for now, so who cares if she's damaged or not?" He grinned. "Besides…You all know how those perverts in the market are like. They don't care if they're damaged or not, all they want is for them to be young."

"Even so, the value of the goods will-!"

"You. Are you giving me an order?" The head of the group narrowed his eyes.

"I…I'm sorry, Boss." The man lowered his head like an animal submitting to his alpha.

"Hmph. If you really want to show your apology, then go and hit the girl." The head grinned ferally. "It'll show that you have changed your mindset, and that you'll mend your ways."

"I-I…" The man stuttered. "…I understand."

The sound of approaching footsteps made her open her eyes just a little.

The man stopped before her, staring down at her almost apologetically.

No…Ann shook her head slightly at him. If he hits her now, if she loses her focus…The demon would…The demon…

He lifted his hand and he slapped her once.

"Another time." The head of the group commanded ruthlessly.

He lifted his feet this time and kicked her head.

"Another."

Kick.

"Another."

Punch.

Her head was spinning. The world felt numb.

Ann wondered if this was how Luffy felt when he was hit with a spiked glove. To have the truth battling within himself and the pain inflicted on him…

Her head throbbed.

Something was battling in her to come out.

…Why is she protecting them anyways? These people were the ones hurting her. Isn't it fine that she had tried?

With that thought, Ann knew her brief moment of weakness had made her lose to the demon. Her control was relinquished.

Her eyes opened, not by her own command, and her head moved.

Narrowly, she had dodged a kick from the man.

There was a moment's pause as the men looked down, stunned at her agile movement. The demon lowered her head to stare at the rope bounding her – Ann wondered what she was doing – and something changed.

It was like focusing on two objects, namely, her clothes and the rope, and switching a common property between both objects.

Her clothes became harder. The rope became softer.

The demon parted her arms and the rope tore as easily as cloth. Her clothes returned to its normal texture after the rope fell.

The demon lifted her head to stare contemplatively at them and Ann felt a twinge of horror when she understood her thoughts.

"W-What happened?" One of the men returned to his senses.

"S-She has a devil fruit…Somebody, tie her back again!"

Don't do it…Ann begged the demon. Anything but another tragedy. Isn't it enough that she has escaped?

The demon looked down and she smiled.

The men felt the threat and turned on their heels.

"Run! Run away from that monster!" The head yelled.

At their speed, the demon caught up to them easily.

Ann yelled in her head, seeing another flash of Rouge's red tragedy. Why had she trained so hard just for this to happen? Why must the demon use her powers for this?

Her hands touched one man, and he became as still as the ground below them. In the mean time, the ground became as soft as human flesh.

The demon laughed as she threw the man down, ignoring Ann's internal sceams, and the man crumbled to pieces, just like rotting wood.

"Run!" The demon caught up to another man.

"_Stop it! Please! Stop attacking them! I'm not angry!" Rouge exclaimed._

Ann could hear her own laughter above the frightened yells. It was an unfamiliar voice, a voice she had not heard for over four years. It was an evil voice, tainted with all the happiness of an innocent, innocent, savage child, playing with a toy in the only way it knows how to.

That voice belongs to the demon. That voice belongs to her.

Hearing that voice, Ann found herself unable to blame the demon.

The demon was innocent, simply using its powers for the one thing it has ever known to use it for.

On the other hand, Ann was the one who let it out. She was the one who released the demon out and allowed it to cause destruction. She was the one amongst the two of them who knew better. She was the one at fault.

The men crumbled to pieces, one after another.

"_Stop…please…" She hoarsely cried as she stumbled through the now desolate village. "I never asked for this…Please stop…"_

Why is this happening?

Ann knew why.

She had been too indulged in her own happiness and she fully forgot about her duty. She was here to protect Ace. She was here to protect Sabo. And for that, she needed to grow stronger.

In the midst of these bright days, she forgot about that. She thought she was fine this way, that she had time to gradually grow stronger. She became like Rouge, ignorant of time's limit until it ran out.

Maybe fate was using this tragedy to teach them a lesson.

Ann gave up trying to stop the demon, simply waiting for the tragedy to end.

There was still one man left, and he was the head of the group.

As the demon took her first steps out of the shed, they saw the ocean close up for the first time.

Unlike those days where Ace and Sabo would bring her to the cliff, they were at sea level, low enough for the sea to wash ashore. Surrounding them were trees and grass. They must be at one of the abandoned docks around the island.

The man's cries were near the sea.

The demon followed his voice out of the forest.

There, the same arrogant man was grovelling at the feet of a group of people, begging for help.

"…A girl?" A man's voice resounded, shocked.

Ann wanted to look up, but the demon simply focused on completing its task. It approached the cowering man, revealing a gentle smile as she neared him.

No…

Even to herself, her mental voice sounded exhausted.

Ann could feel her cooled eyes getting heated as the man's legs gave out, leaving the distance between them strictly shrinking.

"P-Please! Help me!" The man cried once again.

"Hahaha! What are you saying?! How can a little girl like this harm you?" The man from before cheerfully laughed.

"No! You don't understand! This girl…She's-!"

The demon placed a palm on his face gently and kneeled down to touch sand.

Ann could see her reflection in the man's eyes. In his eyes, she found a serene young girl with eerie, glowing blue eyes.

With his eyes forever widened in that image, the man turned to sand and crumbled to the sandy ground, leaving red and peach sand grains against the sandy brown beach.

"Wha-"

"Stand back, Captain!" The man from before was pushed back. "I'll take care of her-"

"Wait! Benn, look a bit closer at her!"

"What are you saying, Shanks?! She's-"

"Just look!"

It burns.

Her eyes…They burn.

As the coolness faded, she felt a familiar heat in her eyes. The tears fell out uncontrollably as she sniffled.

In times like these, she would always love to embrace Ace and Sabo. Just knowing that her two boys were safe, she felt that her existence here had a meaning. She would never mind sinning if it was for them.

Yet…

A tear fell onto her hand.

Her hands were clean, devoid of blood or dirt, yet all she could see was Rouge's much hated red.

She understood now, why Rouge hated red.

She killed someone in order to prolong her existence. She sinned, but it wasn't for Ace or Sabo, but herself.

The red was evidence that she has sinned. It was a mark of death, of life, or the sacrifices given for them.

She could hear voices, and she identified one of those words.

Lifting her head wearily, she found herself staring into the eyes of Shanks.

In his, she saw a crying girl with normal brown eyes, no longer glowing blue like it was a while ago. The innocent demon was finally gone.

Her lips lifted in a bitter smile of self-hatred.

She doesn't feel relieved at all.

Exhaustion took over as her eyes closed.

The sandy beach feels hot against her cheek.

She wants to hug Ace and Sabo. But will they still accept her, if they know what she had done?

…

"It hurts to kill oneself."

\- Portgas D. Rouge

…

A/N: For this chapter, I followed the style of One Week Friends manga. For those of you who don't know it, they begin with a chapter title for each four page panel, so there are more idle conversations in this chapter compared to previous chapters. The characters are also more honest. I hope you don't mind me taking a show-not-tell narrative style though.

I'll explain according to the list of order in which the events happened.

If anyone has noticed, Ace is considerably blunter with Sabo and more honest with Ann after a year has gone by. His treatment with Sabo is partially because he became more used to Sabo's enthusiasm, and admittedly, partially because of the influence of One Week Friends. If anyone finds the character transaction strange, please inform me. Being the author, I'm rewrote this many times so I'm not sure if the character change suits the time skip. As for Ann, Ace is more talkative when alone with her due to her 'muteness', and the fact that the two shares a common consensus over Sabo developed after a year. Being honest is an added trait special only to her though, since she couldn't tell anyone about his secrets and because he swore to protect her.

The trio's dynamics turned out a bit like Ace-Sabo-Luffy, with Ann becoming the mature Sabo since she is mentally older compared to the two. Sabo, on the other hand, turned out like Luffy since Ann's presence means that he does not have to keep Ace's recklessness in check. Ace is more brotherly since Ann's natural motherly instinct forces him to take care of Sabo as much as she does, causing him to have a brotherly, rather than best friend, relationship with Sabo.

Although Rouge is a minor character, I have always admired her for her strength. Afterall, it takes great determination to be able to withhold a pregnancy for eleven months. I thought I wanted to have a chapter featuring her, but given the few details OP has given, it isn't really enough to suffice. So I thought 'Why not we make her akin to Ann?' And it turned out like this. I am satisfied with her section despite how dramatic it turned out. Afterall, nothing beats a transaction from being a weak-willed, 'cruel', kind of tsun character, into someone strong and kind like Rouge. I will showcase this in the next several chapters, so I hope nobody minds me distorting Rouge's personality a bit.

Next, superpower. I want the reborn people to have some kind of power, but I didn't want it to get too out of hand either. It had to go hand in hand with OP's superpower, which is the devil fruit, but also be somewhat different. Since there obviously wouldn't be a devil fruit so conveniently found in East Blue, and I want to avoid Ann becoming a second Luffy and stealing unintentionally from pirates, devil fruits are out. For reference, I referred to an OP fic I read long ago, one about gods and goddesses, when I was deciding upon the superpower. In the end, my decision came out with 'Having a devil fruit since birth', which also match my plot for future chapters. Up till here, you should have guessed that the 'demon' is actually the demons so popularly associated with devil fruits. I feel a bit uneasy about it being so close to Bleach though, no offense to Bleach fans out there.

Finally, timeline: The trio are six, Luffy is three. Luffy enters Dadan's household when he's seven, so four more years to go. I intend for this to be Shanks' first visit to Dawn Island, before he has even seen Luffy. Hence, he drops by the wrong docks (a typical mistake for someone Luffy-like) and sees Ann.

That's the end of my long monologue. Hope it helps to explain some of this chapter for you guys.

Reviews:

Dragonlily22, Guest (1): I updated

Isadora8156, Raynisia, Conan in Love: Thank you I hope you liked this chapter as well

Zecrea: I hope you don't mind this dynamics as well. If possible, could you tell me what kind relationship you wish for them to have in the future? I will take your ideas into consideration.

miaandB: Thank you! Please continue to support this fic despite its irregular updates!

chibianimefan26: Fufufu…Me too. What do you think I should make their dynamics be like, with Luffy added?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

…

_VanillaMilkshake18: Rouge truly is a strong woman, that's why I chose her _

_Conan in love: I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Hope this week wasn't as terrible for you._

_ShikiUploadz: Heheh, I read my own story and realized there was a huge transaction between chapter 3 and 4. Sorry for taking so long to update! Hope I didn't lose you mid way through._

_That Mysterious Reader: Weeeell, Rouge's power is the Blood Blood fruit, but for Ann, it's something else. What do you think it is? Lol_

_MisukiTheOtaku: This chapter is an answer to most of your questions! As for why Rouge hates red, it is indeed because of her past life occupation. As a surgeon doctor, she drowns in her work, which is often shelved as plain depressing, because her patients die, or indifference, since she rarely sees the patients who survived (being as good as she is, she's constantly trapped in the ER). That's why she's sick of her work, which manifests in her hatred of red. I'm really glad you love my stories, and I hope it continues to please you. I will try to make my stories neater and more comprehensible, though I'm not sure if this chapter is clear enough for you to understand. If there are any queries though, feel free to PM me! I'd be glad to reply!_

_XxFire-PhoenixxX: Indeed, newborn babies are unable to see clearly when they are born but I made sure to emphasize on the blur vision using words such as 'squinting', so I reckon my story does not deserve a 'wth' off the bat. As to why a baby is able to think like this, it is obvious just from my summary that it is an OC being reborn into this world, so logically, a teenager in the infant's body would be able to think as such unless they are mentally stunted or you skipped right past the very first scene and failed to realize that. Pardon my bluntness with you, one of my precious audience, and please excuse my rudeness if I am misunderstanding, but I hope such troll comments will not be posted in the future as I will not feel obligated to entertain them._

…

"Life is like a pencil that will surely run out,

but will leave the beautiful writings of life."

\- Nami, One Piece

…

_The Story of Portgas D. Rouge_

The Story of Gol D. Ann

…

_In the distance, as her tears continued to fall onto the tiny wriggling infant, Rouge heard a voice. It was a weird voice which was as smooth as the silk, yet oddly enough, still as highly pitched as her childish voice. It was the voice of a child carrying the maturity of an adult, and it was gradually approaching, accompanied by the shrinking shadow that loomed over her._

"_In the end…I was still too late." The voice spoke._

_Her eyes shifted numbly to land on black leather boots, rising to find the unforgiving face of a stern young boy peering down at her. The boy was young, no older than herself. But with his short side burns and menacing sharp yellow eyes tearing through her soul, she knew somehow that this boy was just like her –_

_\- An anomaly, an adult in a child's body, a world traveler. _Whatever they call people like them.

"_I…" She shut herself up, noticing the tremendous quaking in her voice._

_Yellow daggers softened and closed, turning to appraise the carnage around them. Despite the limpid bodies littered all around, his chin remained lifted, face as blank as paper and as impassive as ever. Never once did he flinch at the blood; He only took it all in before turning back to her._

"_I am Dracule Mihawk. What is your name, woman?" He questioned._

_Her lips quivered, taking far too long a moment to process his question._

"…_Rouge." She answered, dropping her head and squeezing tears out as she continued. "Portgas D. Rouge." Her arms curled around the sleepy infant, brushing against his cheek gently – It was soft, fluffy, and so entirely unlike the flesh she always had to cut through in the surgical rooms – The baby yawned. "And this…This is all my fault." She admitted._

_He paused and some shifting was heard as he leaned in._

"_Half of it is." He corrected, not meeting her gaze. "The other half is mine because I failed to find you in time."_

_She paused, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. _

"…_What?" Her voice was barely audible over the sounds of the rain._

"_It will all be explained in due time, Portgas D. Rouge." He shrugged off his coat, dragging it over her shoulders in a gentlemanly manner. She couldn't help but notice how he glanced down at the infant in concern, taking care to avoid touching it. "For now, I reckon you would like to return to our home and calm your senses."_

"_Home." The word tasted weird in her mouth. "Where is that?" _

_He offered her a gloved hand and she took it. The simple action of cuddling the needy little life in her arms gave her the strength needed to stand from the sea of blood, and like how she always did in her past, she shoved aside that pile of messy treads into a treasure chest, locked it, and rebooted her mechanical systems with a 'click'._

"_It is on a sky island connected to this land currently." Mihawk replied, taking lead in some direction towards somewhere. "It's Utopia, and it is home."_

…

_When she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a black ceiling, Rouge was grateful that the emotions still remained detached. They were always an obstacle and never an aid, and with the memories now flooding into her mind, emotions were much unneeded voices._

_She recalled that they were walking for hours until Mihawk tired of it, deciding to pick her up and power walk through a forest. Eventually, they reached their destination and there was the island 'Utopia', a mess of clouds camouflaging with the clouds off a cliff. She could hardly believe her eyes when he stepped onto the clouds and the outer world disappeared in a blur. There, hidden in the midst of some white plants growing on the clouds, was a village, painted in brilliant gold, blue, and red. And when they entered, there were…_

_It was then that she noticed a suffocating heat behind her._

"_Rouge-chan…What are you doing awake so early in the morning? Stop moving and be a good human bolster for me." The woman with long strawberry blond hair and glowing green eyes groaned, throwing a hand around the displeased girl._

_She twitched at the whine and planted a firm kick in the woman's tummy._

"_What am I doing in your bed?!" She yelled, narrowing avoiding a hug. She wasn't a fan of yuri, damn it!_

"_There weren't enough beds." The woman said simply, smiling sleepily up at her. "And now, don't be like that. Come into my bosom, dearie~" Rouge cringed when she was pulled in by a muscled arm and struggled with all her might._

"_S-Stop it-"_

_She didn't manage to get an eyeful of it, but if One Piece's fame for their well-endowed women was any indication, she was certain that a hug here would be synonymous with temporary suffocation._

"_Come here, my beloved body warmer-"_

"_Who the hell is your body warmer, you perverted woman?" Her vein pulsed._

"_Why silly~ It's you, of course!"_

_The door slid open without either of them noticing and Mihawk sweatdropped at the scene._

"_What are you doing?"_

_Rouge glared at him as she struggled some more._

"_Help me!"_

…

_The woman was left with three bumps on her head. Somehow, Rouge got the feeling she would be seeing more of that, so she aptly named it the triple-scoop ice cream._

"_Her name is Julia, and she's the one in charge of the navigation of this island." _

_Rouge deadpanned at the woman's well endowed chest and then the bottle of beer in her hands. Even if she was never a fan of One Piece, the irony of this was not lost on her._

"_Why am I not surprised?" She mumbled sarcastically._

"_And this is Portgas D. Rouge, newcomer and the fiftieth and final member of the Clan." _

_She blinked at the title, cocking her head at them. Fiftieth…That means there are another forty-seven of them, excluding those who are present? Well, Mihawk said he would explain, so that wasn't important. More crucially…_

"_What happened to the baby?" She asked._

_The duo exchanged looks before Mihawk folded his arms and answered her question._

"_He is currently under the care of one of our second-class members, just like he ought to be. The same treatment you received is given to him though, so you need not worry." He added quickly._

_Rouge sweatdropped and glared darkly at the cheerful woman – Julia, was it? If the same treatment was given to him, then by all means, there were sufficient reasons to be worried. But for now, since his safety was somewhat assured, she decided to forgo that._

"_What do you mean second-class? And you said you would explain, so do so now."_

_Julia blinked and turned to the other clan member. _

"_You mean you still haven't explained it to her yet, Mihawk?!" She yelled, outraged._

_Said boy only sighed and folded his arms, petulantly looking away._

"_The tragedy happened, so there wasn't enough time." _

"_Still, you should have at least filled her in before you arrived here! Now, I would have to do my job, wouldn't I?!" She yelled. Rouge sweatdropped._

"_You lazy shit." Mihawk rolled his eyes._

"_Why thank you. I hate you." Julia beamed, kicking the boy out of her room. "And never come back!"_

"_Erm." Rouge tried hard to stare at anywhere other than the beer bottle. Really, she did. But fear for her life and her chastity still took priority when she questioned the crazy woman in a soft voice. "Are you sure you can brief me when you're as drunk as you are?"_

"_Oh, I certainly can! I'm the one who came up with the theory afterall!" Julia said flippantly._

"…_Theory?"_

_In response, the woman hiccupped and plopped herself down on the bed. Under her glowing green eyes, Rouge was unnerved despite herself and she tried to stare back, glaring when needed if only to not lose the sudden staring contest._

"_Have you ever thought, Rouge-chan, about how people like us came over to this world from all diverse worlds and times?" The woman started, narrowing her eyes. "Have you ever wondered about why we came over here and are reborn in these bodies even though many others do not?"_

"…_Yes to the first, but no to the second." Rouge replied when she realized she was waiting for a response. "We were able to come over because of some connection between the worlds, like a wormhole, per say, or something of that sort, right?"_

"_Wormholes are a possible answer, I guess. But then they're just not specific enough, because in that case, there would be no need for us to go through the processes of dying and rebirth." Julia snorted. She leaned in. "But there is, indeed, a connection. My theory states that all the worlds are connected in terms of the energy of living creatures – humans, animals, plants, and even the Earth itself. And these worlds are linked for the sole purpose of stabilizing the energy; to ensure that no world has too much or too little energy, which could jeopardize the state of things."_

"…_Energy?" Rouge stated dubiously._

"_You doubt me, don't you?" Julia furrowed her brows._

"_Of course I don't. My world has been increasing in population size over the years, and that is expected to continue for the next few centuries until the second Ice Age comes. How do you expect me to believe you?" Rouge laughed, overwhelmed._

"_Just hear me out, Rouge-chan, and before that, I think you need to keep in mind that the energy per person is not always constant, or represented by numbers."_

_She could, she supposes, not that she would believe it._

"_As I said, our worlds are interconnected for the sake of energy stability. This means that when one world destabilizes, more energy are passed on or drawn from other worlds, which could then trigger a massive destabilization amongst all worlds. This suggests that for the stabilization process to work, there must be some worlds which can stabilize by itself, be it by releasing pulses of energy or producing its own energy. And I believe that this world here is one of such worlds." _

_Julia paused, eyes wide with childish fascination as she talked, and Rouge gestured for her to continue._

"_This world has the ability to release energy in the forms of a superpower unseen on some of our planets – devil fruits, in other words – but I believe that it also only has limited ability to regenerate by itself. So what this means is that on occasions when energy is released above certain levels, this world has to absorb energy from other worlds, which explains why death and rebirth is a necessary process. For us to be 'absorbed', our energy must leave the other world, but without bringing our physical forms along. That's why when we come, we get reborn into a different body. On the other hand, there are times when this world bites off more than it can chew, leading to spikes in its energy levels, causing-"_

"_-the energy to be released as devil fruits, alongside the source of that energy, us, right?" Rouge blinked as she continued slowly, encouraged by the nods Julia gave. "That's why we are born with devil fruit powers and why these powers eventually release when pent up – because they are just regenerative energy, and in the end, we are just their vessels."_

_Her mood was dampened by her own words and she looked down at her fists in thought._

_Julia gave the girl her silence, deciding to cool down from her theory-induced excitement instead. Even though she was always happy to explain her theory to fellow reincarnates, Mihawk did tell her once that she tends to go over the top, becoming borderline inconsiderate of their feelings. It was the one thing she has never been able to fix even after being reborn._

_When the silence dragged on for a little too long though, Julia got just a bit uncomfortable._

"…_Rouge-chan?"_

_She was startled when the first drop of tears broke through._

"_R-Rouge-chan-?!" She yelped. If there was one similarity she shared with Mihawk, it was their weakness for crying girls. "Why are you cryin-…"_

_Rouge sniffled and wiped away the tears, looking back up with the same impassive expression she had since she woke up._

"_How did you even come up with this theory, you perverted navigator?" Julia smiled, relieved at the same deadpan tone all this time. Rouge seems like a strong girl, so if she wants, the navigator would happily pretend that it had not happened._

"_My eyes, Rouge-chan." She tapped her head. "You notice how my eyes are constantly glowing? I have the permanent power of being able to view the flow of energy, or something like that. In the end, it's not a single help in anything but navigating and theorizing."_

"_Good. That means you'll die early."_

"_How cruel a girl you are." Julia fake sniffed. "You're almost on the same level of sadism as Mihawk."_

"_You're on the same level of masochism as us."_

"_Thank you for the compliment, darling." She replied, sounding sickeningly sweet._

"_It's not one." Rouge smiled. "And Julia?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Thanks."_

"_Anytime." The woman smiled back._

…

"_Carrying on with what that indecent woman has been saying, there has always been one place which contains special magnetic waves attracting the energy, and that is here." _

_The hallways were decorated with numerous paintings, some displaying abnormal images, others futuristic yet real in a way which led her to believe that they were artistic interpretations of other worlds. _

_They passed by some dozens of people, a handful of which had the same permanently glowing eyes of Mihawk and Julia whereas some others gave her the same feeling as Mihawk and herself did, and more others, who lacked that same distinct aura. With polite nods towards Mihawk being returned and curious but warm smiles directed towards her, she felt at home despite the foreignness of it all._

"_Due to that special attribute, many of the reincarnates have been reborn on this island. That said, every now and then when the coupling rates are less than desired, there will be anomalies like us born outside the island." Rouge blinked at his words, gazing at Mihawk in a different light._

"_You are an anomaly as well?" She questioned softly._

"_Born on Grand Line, in an island directly under the passing Utopia. The woman likes to call it the result of an off-the-mark energy spark." Mihawk's lips curled down slightly as he continued. "I suffered the same tragedy you did, albeit to a lesser degree of damage."_

_She pursued her lips, looking out of the glass windows guiltily._

"_Does it…vary according to our powers?" She questioned._

"_It does. Mine is the power to identify people's potential. Naturally, a mental ability causes lesser carnage than a physical one." He answered bluntly._

"_I see."_

"_On Utopia, the children are trained from young to never suffocate their powers in order to avoid an outburst. That said, there would be occasional victims, and the survivors would always be brought onto the island to be treated as one of our own. As…pension, so you could say." His gaze flickered to one of the passing men. "And they are known as the second-class members, members who lack the same powers we do but are trained to make up for it in various fields."_

_So the infant she saved would have that same result as well. Her eyes became downcast._

"_I…see."_

_She wrestled her emotions back into that tiny box and took a deep breath. The sudden influx of information was almost too much, so much that she was beginning to wish she was back in that enclosed world of hers, not having to learn, speak, or walk. But then again, that world has been destroyed, hasn't it? _

_As if noticing the sudden plunge in her mood, Mihawk spoke up suddenly._

"_You will be taught to control your powers here. And like any other of the Clan members, you will be educated so that you are able to make use of the economic powers our Clan has – so your powers would be a last resort." He paused, capturing her attention, and his lips curled up into something that vaguely resembled a smile. "Trained by others like us, of course."_

_The words took too long a moment to absorb, but by the time it finally finished processing, she found a smile on her lips. Rouge cocked her head at the first thread of hope she was offered, and she grabbed it readily._

"_Mihawk, you are more gentlemanly than I thought you would be." She smirked._

_The boy twitched and narrowed his eyes at her._

"_And you are sassier than I expected, too."_

…

When brown eyes parted, she saw numerous coloured blobs within her hazy vision. Her entire frame felt tremendously hot. Her head was spinning with the memories she was getting from Rouge, accompanied by the low drone of her own memories of her tragedy. In the midst of all the heat flooding her senses, there was just one cool object wrapped around her right ankle. It felt cold, and the sense of weakness was originating from there.

Ah...It must be seastone. What else could people like her be weak to? She didn't know it would feel this debilitating being in contact with that.

It hurts, yet…she was simply too tired to even move a finger…

It took a while to remember who she was.

She wasn't Rouge. She was Ann, the same Ann Rouge would give birth to in the future, the Ann who is mute and tactful, unlike the blunt, mechanical Rouge.

She was Ann.

Someone was speaking, and he was close to her.

Peach closed forward, and red filled her vision as the tan man took a single look at her and yelled at his crewmates, pointing to the chain on her leg accusingly. The blobs rushed out at once, almost tripping in their haze to get whatever it is the captain wanted.

"Are you alright?" It was a desperate question, one that reminded her of a separate one in her last moments before her consciousness faded out.

"_No! Stay with me!"_ But still, through the echoes of the doctor's quaking voice, the abyss had dragged her into its embrace.

"…don't die…Don't you dare die on me…Hotaru…"

Coolness spread across her head as the man kindly replaced the towel.

She gazed at him, confused, and simply tried her hardest to recall his name.

Sha…

…

_Ten years later, the stability of her life was ruined when her eight year old student suddenly stated._

"_There's an idiot trying to catch up to Utopia."_

"_Huh, really. How did you know?" She questioned._

_Another stitch or two and the wound would be fixed. If only Leon would just stop fidgeting around on the bed, this work would have been finished an hour ago._

"_Stop moving!" She shouted up at her patient._

_Leon, a spiky haired blonde with brown eyes framed by green glasses, only glared down at her with teary eyes._

"_Do you know how distraught I am to see that piece of metal entering and leaving my body over a dozen times?!" He screamed. _

_Her eye twitched. To think that this is her insane combat tutor years ago – the very same one who tossed knives at her on a whim and laughed at her pain…How humiliating!_

"_If you're scared, then you shouldn't have gotten this wound to begin with!" She yelled back in his face. "Now shut up and stop being a baby before I give you more stitches!"_

_Leon whimpered in the medical bed, covering his eyes in pain._

_Meanwhile, Oscar, the one she termed fondly as her little rascal, was efficiently put himself to use by washing blood off some medical equipment. He was a tiny Asian boy, with dark eyes that glowed indigo when his powers were activated._

"_I was on a mission the other day off the island, and I met him." He said offhandedly. "Had to remove all information of us from his head, though I believe he is somehow still searching for us. Mihawk-sensei mentioned yesterday that there was another idiot by the same appearance asking around for Utopia. I'm not sure if my powers were faulty, or that idiot is the same guy whom I met."_

_The air got stiffer with his explanation and Rouge's eyes narrowed as she finished the last stitch. _

_If Oscar was right, then there is someone who has the ability to resist their powers. And to pass through Utopia's first wall of barrier – the power to take and transfer memories – suggests that said 'idiot' is likely able to bypass the half of them who have mental powers. _

"_Heh~ It sounds like a troublesome person." Leon commented offhandedly, but the way his brown eyes flickered orange showed the same tension she felt._

"_Did you report this to the committee?" She questioned, giving a light pat to Leon's stitch and earning a mock glare. _

_The committee was a team of ten of the first-class members and five of the second-class members. These members were usually the ones staying on the island permanently, manning it while the others move around to enforce their economic, technological, and informative powers below the skies. They were also the ones keeping the other members in check, ensuring the security and wellbeing of the clan as a whole._

"_I transferred his memories to them, if that's what you mean." Oscar held his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently, according to the clan's information…The idiot is someone called 'Gol D. Roger' or something along those lines."_

_Rouge stoned._

"_The future pirate king?" Leon whistled from his porch on the bed. "Hey, isn't he one of the influential giants of this world? Why isn't someone there to keep an eye on him, like all the others?"_

"_It's weird? Isn't it? According to the past world knowledge, not much information on Roger is known, other than his crewmates, but even then, none of them are Hotaru."_

"_The only other accompany he has was…I think…"_

_The two males turned to look at her at once, realization dawning on their features._

"_Yes, me." She bit out dryly, dropping her head in her palms. "I'm supposed to marry that idiot."_

…

_While most reincarnates and affiliates choose to stay on Utopia unless there was a mission, there are at times those odd ones who would just choose to drift between islands, straying back to Utopia every now and then if only to receive some compulsory missions._

_They are called Strays, strays as in the stray cats._

_People like the rising star Dracule Mihawk is one of them. At age sixteen, the chick finally decided it was time to leave home and took to the seas to grow up – or so Julia so eloquently put it. _

_And all of a sudden, Rouge found herself included in that bracket as well._

_She was kicked out from Utopia onto a South Blue island, given some money alongside all her belongings, and told to "fall in love with Gol D. Roger with the long term goal of marriage". She was also only able to return to Utopia should there be a mission, meaning she was basically told to become a Stray._

_Three words to that._

…_What the fuck?_

…

_Like anyone could expect from two D's, their first meeting was anything but romantic._

_After buying a house, she spent half a year waiting for Utopia to lead the bumbling fool towards her island. She wormed her way into the villagers' hearts in the mean time, determined to at least get along with this village this time round. She set up a clinic, offered her services, and even made friends with the local bar owner for preparations to welcome a gang of pirates._

_And what did the idiot first do when he set foot on the docks?_

_He tripped._

_He tripped on plain water, and found his arm sliced by some fisherman's knife._

_How utterly stupid is that?_

_From the frontlines of the crowd, she deadpanned at his mistake and glanced at the future pirate king's crew, trying to find someone who even looks remotely like a doctor._

"_Don't you have a doctor?" She asked, stepping forward like a 'brave civilian'._

_The crowd glanced up at her and panicked._

"_R-Rouge-sensei, you really shouldn't help the pirates! The marines would…!" A worried housewife murmured._

"_Our crew was split and the doctor's with another team. Who are you, missy?" Silvers Rayleigh narrowed his eyes at her, his posture tensing in a manner that allows him to move to protect his injured captain at any moment._

"_Someone who could help your captain, depending on your mannerisms." She rolled her eyes and stepped forward._

"_Aaaah…Rouge-sensei, you really shouldn't-"_

"_Mayor-san, this man here is the captain of the Rogers Pirates. If we do not do as they say, we will be injured. On the other hand, it is because the marines are not here to protect us, that's why we are forced to help them." She offered the lie with a lazy smirk, looking down at the tiny white haired man._

"_Indeed. Just look at their shiny swords. They could cut us down cleanly if we refuse." The mayor smiled. "And besides, this could be a good lesson to the marines to provide more security to us as an international seaport."_

_The two of them chuckled deviously and looked at the pirates._

"_Ne, you will kill us if we do not help, won't you?" Rouge pressured, smirking at how a bead of sweat went down Rayleigh's face._

"_Wha…"_

"_Oh, what a terribly scary confirmation you are making, Rouge-kun. But you will maim us if we refuse, right, Pirate-san?" The mayor joined in._

"_We…" Rayleigh coughed, hiding a laugh, and nodded. "We will do even more terrible things if you refuse."_

"_EEEEEEEEHHH?!" The innocent and naïve villagers cried._

"_With that, I leave these pirates in your hands, Rouge-kun." The mayor patted her lightly on the shoulder before diffusing the frightened crowd. "I look forward to a nice game of Chess the next time you visit the bar."_

"_Of course." She smiled._

_With the crowd leaving and no one watching, she took out her handy medical kit and leaned over the injured man._

"_You're a weird woman, aren't you?" Roger still had the gall to laugh. Thankfully, the laughter caused a sharp pinch of pain down his arm, saving him from a slap on the wound._

"_This is why you should never be so careless, Roger!" Rayleigh smirked, sitting down. Like any proper first mate, he looked up at the rest of the crew and commanded them with ease. "The rest of you should go on and fix the ship. We need to go on and meet up with the others quickly before chasing after Utopia!"_

"_YEAH!" The crew shouted back in turn._

_Rouge rolled her eyes._

"_There's no need to search for it any longer, you idiots!" She yelled. "Utopia will never be caught up to by you guys! At least – not when you are sailing on sea!"_

"_What do you mean?!" Roger flinched in pain when his arm ached again. Still, acting just as irrationally as she was told, the man looked up at her with widened eyes, processing her words. "Wait – You believe that Utopia exists?!"_

_She heaved a sigh._

_While they were practically kings above ground, below skies, even though the Hotaru clan is renowned for the way they handled their money, technology and information, it was not common knowledge that they had an island/ship known as Utopia. Some like to say that they travel by an underwater ship, whereas others pointed out that they could simply be a gang of pirates. A sky island was the rarest of the rumours, even though it is the truth._

_Setting that matter aside, she hovered her hand over his wound, willing his blood to return._

_The red liquid floated up before returning back to their owner's body, leaving a thoroughly grossed out Roger and Rayleigh. The rest of the crew, having been too far to see the sight, did not have the same reaction, but despite that, they were still able to at least see the weird woman's chocolate brown eyes glow red._

_Grabbing her needle, she stitched the wound back together finished the job with a light pat on it._

"_I am Portgas D. Rouge, a member of the Hotaru Clan. And I'm here to tell you to stop chasing after Utopia."_

"_E…EEEEEEEEEHHHH?!"_

_It was comical how their eyes bulged out and their jaws fell to the ground._

_Rouge would have been amused if their reaction hadn't mean drawling out this conversation._

"_H-How?! W-What?!" Roger stuttered._

_Rouge was beginning to wish that Oscar never erased memories of Utopia from Roger's mind, if he did at all. If he didn't, it simply means that Roger is really that much of an idiot._

"_Utopia has been immensely displeased with your actions, Gol D. Roger. Your presence on the islands we visited have impacted our economic relations, and we wish for you to stop. As a result, I was pulled onto this mission and had to stay on this island for a year to wait for you…" Her face darkened the more she said, glaring at the source of her problems._

_Roger bowed his head, much to her surprise._

"_Sorry. Seems like I caused much trouble for you. And also…" He beamed. "Thanks for healing my hand, Rouge!"_

_It was at times like this that the job hazard of her previous occupation took over. As a doctor who worked only in surgical rooms, the patients she had have either become corpses, or healed, but without ever seeing her. Corpses can't thank, so she was never able to get accustomed to being thanked even in this life._

_She looked away, face flushing slightly._

"_Y-You're welcome, you bastard."_

"_Isn't calling me a bastard a bit too harsh? Also, you look like a peach, Rouge! What's with that pink face and hair of yours…" Roger laughed._

_Behind him, the crew exchanged knowing looks and sighed. The captain has yet again charmed another lady._

…

_Two weeks later found her sitting in her medical room, sticking on a princess themed sticker onto Roger's head. Rouge sighed, leaning back in her seat. The future Pirate King only grinned happily, barking a loud thanks that had her flushing again._

"_Sometimes, I really wonder about you, Roger. How can you be so careless as to get a scratch every single day?" Her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, wondering if he was even doing it on purpose. No pirate king, future or past, should be that clumsy. Unless, of course, he was doing it for the sake of seeing her…But she doubted that._

"_Your sweets are just nice, Rouge." Roger grinned, sticking a hand out again. "Strawberry today too, please."_

_Rouge rolled her eyes and grabbed the container of her homemade sweets off the shelf. Normally, she would only give the sweets to her younger patients, but knowing Roger, it would save her some trouble just to shut up about that._

_Another thanks had her turning pink again and looking away._

"_If I find out that you're purposely hurting yourself daily, Roger, you'll not look forward to your punishment." She glowered._

_Roger gulped down his candy and grinned._

"_I just wanted to talk to you, Rouge! Tell me what Utopia's like today as well!"_

"_Today is impossible. I have to do some deliveries for the immobile patients today!" She sighed._

"_Eeeh~ That's unfair~ You're the one who promised to tell me about Utopia if I said I wouldn't try to catch it anymore."_

_She sighed. The things she did for those bastards back at Utopia…And they repay her by kicking her off the island. Hopefully, the chance would come for her to teach them a lesson one day._

"_What if I help you deliver those things?! Then will you have more time to tell me about Utopia?!" Roger suddenly proposed, face scrunched up in thought. Rouge wouldn't admit it, but she thought the man looked adorable with that expression in spite of his age._

"_I will, but you don't even know where the houses are, so-"_

_His only response was to carry her bridal style and grab the sack of medicine in one hand._

"_I'll carry you, so tell me the directions!"_

"_Eeeeeh?!"_

…

_Their conversations moved gradually from Utopia to his adventures, and she begun to learn about the things he loved._

"_There was that one time when we ended up on some tropical island that was also a flower and we almost ended up getting eaten by the flower." He said in a single breath, leaving her both amused and partially confused. For some reason, that island sounds familiar._

"_So what happened to make you guys lose your guard there?" She asked._

"_Well, that island there had a lot of food – ranging from fruits to meat. So the crew went off the ship and we ended up feasting three days without stopping. As a result, most of us became fat – even Rayleigh!" Her lips twitched upward at the thought of a plump Rayleigh. "And then one day, the entire island just begun moving, and we realized that it was a gigantic flower that was closing up and trying to eat us!"_

_Moving flowers, it must be a carnivorous plant, she thought, fascinated by his stories._

"_Ironically, that was also where Buggy got his powers. He chomped into one of the larger fruits, which miraculously, as a devil fruit in disguise!" He paused. "Ah, but his nose has always been that red and round though. The devil fruit did not change it at all."_

_She laughed._

…

"_Hello? Is this Oscar?"_

"_I am. Why are you calling, Rouge-sensei?"_

"_I just wanted to inform you your powers weren't faulty. There wasn't any idiotic man who's immune to the mental powers yet."_

"_Eh? You spoke with him?"_

"_Apparently, Roger kept a note plastered to his wall the third time you've erased his memories. This way, he continuously reminded himself of Utopia each time you did your job."_

"…_That fucking troublesome bastard."_

"_Don't worry. I got him to swear that he wouldn't chase Utopia again, so you can tell the committee to stop worrying about it."_

"…_You sound gleeful, Rouge-sensei."_

"_I am. I look forward to the committee's reactions to that, even if I can't see it."_

"_Sadistic sensei."_

"_Adorable student."_

"_Stop that. You're starting to sound like Julia."_

"_Thanks for the compliment."_

"_Geh."_

"_You shuddered, didn't you, Student?"_

"_I did."_

"_Take care of yourself, Oscar. Tell the others I'm doing fine and there's no need to worry about me."_

"_M'kay. I will."_

…

"_The captain's in love with you, Rouge-sensei."_

_The statement had her tripping over her toes, but luckily, the childish red headed teen caught her with ease. Shanks grinned, wriggling his brows at her face._

"_So, do you love him as well?"_

_Her face flushed in turn and she whacked him over the head._

"_Shanks, your captain is a huge, powerful pirate with the mentality of someone your mental age. What makes you think he might like me in that non-platonic sense?" She ranted._

"_Well, the fact that he always thinks about your sweets when eating our cook's desserts…The fact that he's been bringing flowers to you almost every day…the fact that he's been scratching himself with a knife in order to see you…Oh, and that he's given up on Utopia for you. Captain never gives up on anything, especially not on an adventure." Shanks grinned widely, looking up at her. "See? Captain's clearly in love with you!"_

"_This is bullshit. And you know that it is, Shanks." She replied in a deadpan._

"_Or so you think, Rouge-sensei. You're clearly in love with him as well." Shanks sang as he left, waving at her._

"_As if I am." She huffed._

_She tried to dismiss the fact that she's been making more of those strawberry sweets he likes so much…and trying to learn how to make pressed flowers to preserve the ones he gave her…or keeping in stock various cartoon patterned Band-Aids in preparation for him to come everyday…or dreading the day he would come up to her and tell her that the crew is leaving._

_Rouge wondered why Shanks would even think that Roger likes her, when clearly, she's not the kind or strong Rouge that was originally in the show._

_She wasn't worth loving, not when she's just an imposter in this body._

_Her eyes turned downcast as she dug up some medical herbs from her shelf and grinded them mechanically._

_The button in her went 'click' and she tried to shove all her overblown feelings into that tiny treasure chest._

…

_Rouge recalls that long ago, in one of her Spartan training with Leon, Leon taught her one of the major weaknesses of the Hotaru clan:_

"Never, ever approach a sea stone and see, touch, or even simply lie on it." _Why? She had asked, intrigued by the gleam of fear which entered Leon's usually fearless eyes. _"Because we are like devil fruits, and have you ever heard of a devil fruit growing near the ocean or sea stones?"

_In short, sea stones could kill them, and she was now learning that._

_Lying weakly against the sea stone cell she was trapped in, Rouge wondered if this was how she would be dying. She had been in here for near three days, and in those three days, despite the food and water they had tried to give her, her body just wasn't able to take in any of that. Two days ago, a fever had broken out, and it was rising even now. Just yesterday, in fact, her vision had blanked out and she woke up to a gang of pirates, panicking for their lives._

_Sea stone is a huge no-no from here on, if she survives this ordeal._

_There was the sound of clanking metals as her cell was opened._

"_So this is the Hotaru you've caught?" The disgustingly fat woman snorted, sounding like a pig._

"_Yes, indeed it is. May I ask how much you are willing to pay for her?"_

_From her position on the ground, Rouge glared at the woman with all her might._

"_Twenty-five million beris." The woman grinned._

"_T-Twenty-five million?!" The pirate echoed, astonished. Evidently, even though he knew how desirable the Hotaru clan was, he was not aware of their exact amount if he is willing to accept only twenty-five million._

_Rouge would have rolled her eyes if she could, but given her condition, she could barely keep her eyes open._

"_Rouge's not for sale, you bastard!" _

_And the door was slammed opened yet again, the man's squeal cut off by a punch, the woman knocked unconscious._

_The view on the ground was different from that on top. She could see shoes approaching, shadows looming, but what gave away his identity was still that voice of his – however violent or uncharacteristically possessive it sounded._

"_Roger…?" She called out in a whisper._

"_Yup, it's me!" The shaggy-beard man chuckled weakly as he righted her into a sitting position. Though his hat shadowed his eyes, it was obvious he was appraising her state when he dipped and lifted his head. The calloused hand on her arm tightened ever slightly, but not tightly enough to cause pain. "What the hell did they do to you, Rouge?"_

_It was the first time she heard him curse. His voice was taut, like a string on the brink of snapping – Or has he already snapped?_

_Rouge wanted to reply. Really, she did. But the sea stone sapped her of her strength and she found it hard to keep conscious._

_It was then that Roger recalled her stories of Utopia and he swiftly lifted her off the sea stone ground, carrying her in a comforting bridal style. Much to her pleasure, they left the dark cabin, entering a world doused by sunlight and the sounds of swords against swords._

"_Rouge…!" Rayleigh was the first to notice them, and his jaw tightened in the same manner Roger's had done. "Those guys…"_

"_Rouge-sensei…!" Shanks was next, but he seemed more worried than angry. "Are you okay?"_

_Just like that, with the added weight of his crewmates' worry, the string snapped._

"_They hurt Rouge. Kill them al-"_

"_D-Don't." She wheezed. He looked down at her, silenced at once. "No killing. Please." _

_Anything but red again._

_She was a doctor, and for others to kill for her, for her to be killing others…_

_Roger nodded and looked at his crewmates again._

"_Don't kill them! But make them hurt enough to regret that they touched Rouge!"_

"_YEAH!" The roar she was becoming fond of hearing resounded before things faded to black._

_It was strange. Red has still been spilled, but for the first time in forever, she felt like she managed to stop that red._

…

_It was ironic, really. The roles of the doctor and the patient have switched for the first time._

"_It was my fault. We've stayed for too long, that's why that crew came after you." Roger bowed his head apologetically. The weight of his feelings was obvious; he wasn't just saying that one worded 'sorry' anymore._

"_It was also my fault for letting my guard down. I'm a Hotaru, I should know how to protect myself." She rolled her eyes and smiled fondly up at him._

"_I…I love you, Rouge." He blurted the words out, and by his expression, he was equally surprised as she was. "When you got caught, I just couldn't stop worrying and thinking…But even though that is normal for any of my crewmates, it was different for you…I couldn't stop thinking about your sweets and the medicine and…"_

"_In other words, you're in love with my sweets?" She smiled, amused._

"_No!" He shouted suddenly. "I…I'm in love with _you_."_

_She couldn't help it._

_Rouge laughed and she lifted a quaking hand, pulling Roger into a warm hug. He was so foolish, so painfully foolish. She could never believe there was someone idiotic enough as to chase after Utopia, even after his memories were deleted, or that there is someone who is stupid enough to cut himself daily so as to visit her, or that there is someone as huge and burly and strong as he is, but still that childish and adorable and endearing._

"_I love you too, Roger." She whispered into his ears, a secret that could break her sarcastic demeanor should it be announced to the world. _

_He halted, smiled, and his calloused hands wrapped around her back, dragging her into a hug._

…

_She was twenty-one when he left._

_Amidst the bright colours of the blues against the red and gold of the skies, their departure reminded her of her first time entering Utopia – Just as happy, sad, moving, and every bit as heartwarming as it was back then._

_She smiled as he waved, and she waved back._

_The button in her had activated that morning with a 'click', and no sooner had they left, she returned to her clinic, turning it off. She slumped on the bed, and burying her face in her knees, she cried._

_That was the last time she would ever see him again._

_And she was right._

…

"…_Julia?"_

"_Rouge-chan! Oh my god, I'm so sorry for…"_

"_It's fine. But…I need Utopia's help one last time."_

"…_One last time?"_

"…_Please."_

"_Whatever you need, say it. We will be there immediately."_

…

_Twins, just as she expected. In her, there was a life that was never supposed to be born, a reincarnate, just like herself._

_When she heard the news, there was only eerie calmness. No storm or tears or smiles. It was another reincarnate, and she would never know if he or she grows up to be happy or sad, old or young, because according to the past world knowledge, Rouge was going to die._

_And she was fine with it, despite the looks her clan gave her._

"_It's fine, Oscar. It's fine." She smoothed the boy's dark hair when he broke the news and hugged her tightly. Sometimes, she forgets that the boy was still a teen when he died. _

"_But you're going to die." He sniffed._

"_Dying and living, we should be used to those things by now." She smirked at his confused look. "Afterall, we're reincarnates, aren't we?"_

"_We are, but…" It was simply too cruel for someone to get used to those processes, he wanted to say, but looking at her face, he never said it. Her hand tightened slightly on his shoulder as she pulled him away to stare into his dark eyes._

"_Listen, Oscar, I need your help. This is something that no one but you can do."_

…

_There was now a constant sense of emptiness, but through the letters given by Utopia, she understood the situation. _

_It appears that her memories have been wiped._

_Nevertheless, she continued living, carrying out Utopia's orders – orders, which were oddly enough written in her own handwriting: To survive. To give birth to her children. To die._

_The days passed endlessly until a man knocked on her doors one day and asked for her._

"_I am Monkey D. Garp, rival to the late Gol D. Roger."_

_She invited him in, and she gave him tea. Apparently, Roger had called him over to help her._

_It was a bitter sweet feeling. The sound of his name spread a numbing sweetness into her heart, leaving with the sound of vacant chiming bells in its wake. The flowers she find in her book was reminisce of that same feeling, and occasionally, to soothe that feeling, she would pluck one of those flowers and put it behind her ears._

_It was a motion that somehow worked._

_When her children came, without her permission, the dam broke and the water flooded out. She heard something akin to a 'click' and a torrent of something swept out like the furious, unforgiving ocean, overwhelming her._

_One memory fluttered out, and it was the single memory she recalls spending with him. She quoted him without thinking._

"_If it's a girl, it's Ann. If it's a boy, it's Ace. …That's what he decided." She smiled, cuddling the children. "Ace and Ann…Their names are Gol D. Ace and Gol D. Ann..."_

_How weird. Tears were tumbling out. She knew she was dying, and she has long accepted it, so why was she crying at this point of time?_

_The girl giggled and they pushed themselves into her neck, as if showing appreciation for their names._

"_Ace…Ann…"_

_She sobbed as she looked at them. Why is it, she wondered. For some reason, they just seem so beautiful to her. The girl smiled while the boy looked up at her curiously._

"_Thank you…" She didn't know why, but amidst the spots that begun to decorate her vision, she felt the need to thank them. For living. For surviving. For loving. "Thank you…"_

_Her vision begun to fade to black and she found herself wondering for just one moment before she died – _

_\- Even though she was giving her best already…was everything she did…enoug-?_

_Her eyes closed before she could finish that thought._

…

_When the petals dropped and fluttered away, all he could think about was fulfilling his mission._

"Oscar, you have the power to transfer information between items, don't you? So I want-"

_Mission? No, it was a friend's last wish._

"-Transfer all my memories into my blood and pass it on to the reincarnate within me-"

_Sometimes, he thinks that Rouge is cruel for leaving it to him, for leaving the safety of her son in the hands of that poor reincarnate she gave birth to. But then again, Rouge is in the end, just human. It was only expected._

"-make it such that she will never have to go through my tragedy, and she can remember my memories-"

_When he took her memories, he went through everything she did. And Rouge was wrong._

"-Tell them that I love them both, no matter what worlds they came from."

_Rouge is kind to everyone but herself, even if she never notices it. She is strong because she knows that she is weak. And more than anybody thinks, Rouge is emotional, not at all the emotionless robot she wanted to be._

_Oscar wonders if he should be putting this memory in, but even then, he did so because he wanted the reincarnate to know his view of it. Of Rouge's existence._

_A voice begun to speak. It was Oscar's voice, his inner thoughts as he worked._

"_Rouge may not be the perfect mother to you, but to me, she has always been the perfect friend. As someone from both the D and the Hotaru clans, she left her mark on the world in the most subtle, beautiful way that held both the clans' traits: She gave birth to you and Ace. She loved you guys despite everything. You are the product of two D's love. So please…No matter what happens, continue to live on happily, knowing that your parents love you despite everything."_

…

"_Thank you for loving me."_

_\- Gol D. Ace_

…

A/N: This is the second and edited draft, in case anyone wants to know. I am adding explanations for this draft:

Firstly, Rouge. I did not manage to convert Rouge from a sarcastic cruel woman to a kind hearted one in the end, but I think I have done a fairly good job of bringing out the desired characteristics – strength and kindness – from the sarcastic Rouge. I won't lie. I didn't plan to bring them out, but in the end, I realized that the same characteristics defining cannon Rouge was present in sarcastic Rouge, so it just coincidentally works out.

I also breezed through a fair bit of the two D's romance story, as most will have noticed, because that is the not the primary idea for this chapter, but instead, it is the existence of the clan, the life of a clan member, and how Rouge acted out that her death scene that are more important. To Ann, who has never known of the clan, those would be the most impactful to her decisions henceforth, so that explains why the clan is shown so much here. Of course, Rouge's entire life was shown to Ann, but for the sake of word count and your time, such trifty details are irrelevant here.

In the process though, I brought in far too many OCs – Julia, Leon, Oscar, did I miss anybody else? – for my liking, but I think my audience would prefer this to crossovers. I have always been disgusted with crossovers since it causes unequal information and some audience to be left out. It also wouldn't make sense in this chapter, since Rouge is not an anime fan and would, in no way, recognize such characters even if they were crossovers.

Finally, the reason why Rouge did not defy her death was because it was a clan law. The past world information was pieced together by everyone's memories of it, and should she defied it, it would have meant that the clan would take a plunge down to hell. There was also no possible way to survive after carrying twins for 20 months, and in the state of grief and her induced amnesia and her still present hatred of herself for 'stealing the actual Rouge's body and happiness', she wouldn't have been able to bear survival anyways. Hence, without a will or potential to survive, she died.

For inquiries on other unmentioned details, please PM me. I would really appreciate it if you could REVIEW or FAVOURITE or FOLLOW, because I'm really depressed about receiving total silence after my draft 1. Just give me a smiley face even if you have nothing to say. I'll appreciate it tremendously.


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